Why it's a bad call to phone while driving

Published on Thursday 26 January 2006 11:35

IT'S just gone midday on a Wednesday morning and the dual carriageway in Sighthill is filled with the noise of cars and vans as they make their way towards the city centre.

At a set of traffic lights, a black Audi waits for the signal to move as its driver, a middle-aged businessman, talks on a mobile phone.

He grips the phone between his shoulder and chin as soon as the lights turn green - somehow managing to change gears, steer and check his mirror while continuing to talk - and sets off along the busy stretch of road. It's a scenario that hundreds of motorists in Edinburgh experience every day.

Although there's an abundance of hands-free kits and bluetooth headsets on the market, it's still all-too-tempting to just pick up the phone and take the call while driving one-handed.

But the Capital's traffic policemen are intent on putting a stop to this kind of common law-breaking on the road. Since New Year, as part of a special crackdown operation that began last October, they have issued on-the-spot fines to 206 motorists caught driving while using a mobile phone.

In total, more than 3400 drivers have landed fines in Lothian and Borders since the new penalty was introduced in December 2003.

Officers say they deal with the offence on a daily basis when patrolling the city's roads - but the force's traffic police also dedicate one day a month purely to catching drivers using mobile phones.

And yesterday was one of those days. The driver of the black Audi is spotted from across the road by eagle-eyed traffic officers Roger Park and Neil Crozier.

It takes just a few moments for them to make a sharp U-turn in their unmarked police car and race toward the motorist, who is still oblivious to their attentions. In fact, it's only when the police Mercedes triggers its lights and sirens and pulls up alongside that the driver even realises who they are and what they are looking for.

But as Roger points at the phone from the squad car's passenger window and beckons him to pull over, the man's face suddenly drops. He pulls an aggrieved grimace - suddenly aware that his five-minute call could prove to be far more costly than he thought.

When the two cars come to a stop, it's clear that the businessman is visibly shaken and he starts to protest that it was an urgent call and he couldn't pull over on the carriageway to take it.

After ten minutes of taking licence details, breath-tests and information about his mobile phone, the man is free to go on his way clutching a 30 fine ticket and regretting his actions. But, as Roger explains as he and Neil set out to find more offenders, their job is not about dishing out as many fines as they can.

"It's not like we're just giving tickets for every little thing we see," the 37-year-old constable explains. "These are proper driving offences that can be very dangerous.

"If you're talking on a mobile phone it's difficult to pay attention to what's happening on the road and you're not in complete control of your vehicle if you have to hold the phone up to take the call.

"I've seen people on roundabouts who have been steering with their knees when trying to change gears. If you have to brake suddenly like that, you don't know what's going to happen."

It may be more than two years since the law making driving while talking on a mobile phone illegal came into effect, but the officers admit it is one that is still regularly broken.

"It's more about educating people rather than just fining them," says 28-year-old Neil, who has been with the traffic police for the past 16 months. "Our job is to point out why we've stopped them, what the dangers are and, hopefully, they won't do it again.

"You get quite a range of reactions from people, though. You get those who are sincere about the whole thing and others who are fairly jovial, but then again there are a few who can get quite abusive when they're pulled over.

"But if they're on the phone when driving they're posing a risk to other drivers. A lot of people have the same attitude to it as they do towards speeding, in that it's OK as long as you don't get caught. It's our job to address that and try to prevent it from happening in the first place."

Within minutes, the two officers have spotted another motorist holding a phone to his ear while driving along the busy stretch of road - their fourth in an hour. After a brief chase, they flag down the 20-something driver who looks genuinely shocked when he is realises why they have stopped him.

"I always use my bluetooth," he stresses. "But I was in a rush this morning and forgot it. I can't believe you guys have got me on the one day I didn't have it on me. I probably deserve the fine just for being stupid, but I'm never going to do that again. It's not worth it."

Not at 30. And it could soon rise if legislation to make it a 60 fine with three points on your licence gets the green light.

When the officers reach Marchmont, they spot a student chatting on his mobile at a set of traffic lights and stop to issue another fine. The youngster also admits his guilt almost immediately. He agrees with the fine, saying that he "totally deserves it", and even tries to pay it on the spot.

It's a stark change from some of the officers' experiences, when women have tried to flirt with them in order to get off being fined and other motorists have refused to even accept the ticket.

"Days like these, when you get people just accepting the fine and listening to the advice we give, are great," admits Neil.

"But it isn't always the case. There are people who think that we should be doing better things with our time than stopping them when they're using a phone.

"It's not pleasant when you get someone being abusive towards you because you've tried to stop them breaking the law."

By lunchtime, the two officers have issued ten fines and say they expect to find many more motorists on their mobile phones while driving in the afternoon. With a strike rate like that, there will be plenty of 30 cheques winging their way to the Treasury coffers.