Drivers To Be Hit With £200 Fine, Six Points For Holding Phone For Any Reason While Driving

Changes in the law on using a mobile phone while driving, will become stricter from this Friday (March 25).

Since 2003, it’s been an offence to use a hand-held mobile phone or similar hand-held device while driving in Great Britain.

Up until now restrictions on using phones have only referred to ‘interactive communication, i.e. phone-calls and messages or accessing the internet.

However, since mobile phones are now used for much more than just communication, the Department for Transport has decided the law must be changed to include a wider scope of offences.

DfE statistics found that in 2020, 17 people were killed, 114 people were seriously injured, and 385 were slightly injured in road traffic accidents in Great Britain where the driver was using a mobile phone.

In a consultation on changing the law, the government said it considers that "all use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving is reckless and dangerous, and not just when being used for the purposes of a call or other interactive communication.”

Thus, the meaning of ‘using’ a phone will be expanded to cover the following:

• illuminating the screen
• checking the time
• checking notifications
• unlocking the device
• making, receiving, or rejecting a telephone or internet based call
• sending, receiving or uploading oral or written content
• sending, receiving or uploading a photo or video
• utilising camera, video, or sound recording
• drafting any text
• accessing any stored data such as documents, books, audio files, photos, videos, films, playlists, notes or messages
• accessing an app
• accessing the internet

The new rules will also make it clear that it's illegal to use your phone while sitting at traffic lights or in a jam.

The only exemptions will be for drivers making a 999 call and for stationary drivers using their phone for contactless payments, such as at a car park or drive-thru restaurant.

Drivers can also use their phone as a sat nav as long as it's safely secured and as a hands-free device.

Using the device does not need to lead to an accident for the offence to be committed. It carries a minimum penalty of a £200 fine and six penalty points. This means an offender would lose their licence after two offences or, for new drivers who have held a licence for less than two years, a single offence would lead to their licence being revoked. 

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said:

“We strongly welcome the government’s strengthening of the law on handheld mobile phone use behind the wheel.

“As our phones have become more sophisticated, the law has not kept pace and this has allowed some drivers who have been using their handheld phones for purposes other than communicating to exploit a loophole and avoid the maximum penalty.

“Our research suggests that more than one in 10 younger drivers admit to taking a photo or video while driving, while 6% say they have played a game.

“While today’s announcement is clearly good news, it’s absolutely vital that the new law is vigorously enforced otherwise there’s a risk that it won’t deliver the sort of behaviour change that will make our roads safer.”