Tougher line on mobile phones

Published on 05/04/2006 00:59

DESPITE a long-standing ban on the use of mobile phones while driving, motorists openly chatting away - sometimes as they travel at great speed - is still quite a common sight on our roads. However, it seems the police are finally getting serious about tackling this potentially fatal habit (you are four times more likely to crash while using a phone).

When the legislation outlawing mobile use was introduced in December 2003, the police adopted a "softly softly" approach, simply warning drivers that they had transgressed and then sending them on their way. By contrast, in the past year the number of drivers forced to pay a fine of 30 has increased by 70 per cent. In all, one in 100 drivers in Scotland has now been fined.

This appears to suggest that the message may finally be getting through, although officials at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents believe it only represents the "tip of the iceberg".

Clearly, the police cannot deploy more scarce resources to tackle this problem. Instead, chief constables need to educate drivers that they will be fined if caught - and that they stand a good chance of being caught. Then they need to advertise the fact that the fine will soon be increased to a much more punitive 60.