Using your phone whilst driving has been illegal in the UK since 2003, carrying six points and a fine if the driver accepts a fixed penalty. However, as reported in the press, several drivers have escaped punishment for filming or taking photographs behind the wheel.
According to the RAC, there were 683 casualties on UK roads in 2019 – including 29 deaths and 118 serious injuries – in crashes where a driver using a mobile phone was a contributory factor.
Whilst the laws surrounding mobile phone ‘use’ have been updated and amended in recent years, the original legislation is now over 30-years-old and quickly becoming out of date. Under the current law, if you are communicating whilst handling your phone, you are guilty of the offence – so that means holding your phone to make a call, text or email.
However, technically, if you are using your phone to put on your best playlist, you are not using your phone to communicate with others and are therefore not guilty of mobile phone use – an argument that has been successfully used to appeal convictions in the past.
Earlier this year, a man overturned a conviction for using his mobile phone to film a crash, after arguing that the rules only apply to those using a phone for ‘interactive communication’, leading the government to announce a tightening of the law in line with mobile phone developments and use.
This was announced following a report by the Commons’ Transport Select Committee, detailing the dangers of driving whilst using a mobile phone, and stating that if an enforcement is to be effective, it must be backed up with a high enough penalty for motorists to take seriously.
The Department for Transport expects the proposals to be in place by spring 2020, meaning that soon you could receive the maximum punishment for holding your phone for any reason while driving.