April/May 2003

Drivers known to have caused death by using a mobile phone while driving should be routinely given custodial sentences, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, has recommended in new sentencing guidelines. According to Lord Woolf, using a mobile phone should always be seen as an "aggravating factor", which provides sufficient justification for the passing of a custodial sentence, rather than a mitigating factor .

The sentencing panel recommends that where more than one aggravating factor is present (for example, using a mobile phone and speeding) the sentence should be generally between five and ten years' jail. For cases where no aggravating factor exists the sentence should be 12 to 18 months in prison.

Brake, the road safety campaigning group, is strongly behind the guidelines. Chief executive Mary Williams comments: "It is ludicrous that, until now, drivers who have killed on the road have been able to cite their own risk-taking as part of their defence."