June/July 2003

Driving whilst using a handheld mobile phone is to become an offence in the UK from December, the Government has announced. It will be subject to an on-the-spot fine of £30, rising to a maximum of £1,000 if the case goes to court. Using hands-free mobile phones on the move will still be allowed.

The Government has drawn assurance in formulating its plan from work conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory and sponsored by insurer Direct Line. This found that drivers using hand-held mobile phones took 21 per cent longer to react than drivers over the drink driving limit, and 50 per cent longer than sober drivers not using mobile phones.

The road safety campaigning group Brake has welcomed the move, but says the ban should also apply to hands-free phones, and complains that the £30 fine is not high enough to act as a real deterrent. It says that according to its own research, 37 per cent of drivers use a mobile phone on the move. Here at m.logistics we think the ban is a good middle course.