1,000 drivers caught on mobile phones in a fortnight

A recent two-week road safety campaign across Wales found 1,000 motorists using a mobile whilst driving.

During the campaign, officers detected a total of 1,000 mobile phone driving offences. In the Dyfed Powys force area, 429 notices were given, while in North Wales a total of 168 offenders were caught. South Wales Police issued 274 fixed penalty notices and in Gwent a total of 129 were issued.

A recent Ofcom report warned of increasing levels of smartphone addiction in the UK by users who are unable to go without checking their phone even for short periods or through the night. Over a quarter of adults and nearly half of teenagers now own a smartphone and the volume of mobile data transferred over the UK's mobile networks has increased 40-fold between 2007 and 2010.

A survey carried out by road safety charity Brake expressed concern that nearly three in ten drivers (28%) texts at the wheel and one in 13 (8%) do this at least once a week. One in 11 drivers (9%) surfs the web, emails, uses apps or social networking sites when driving.

Commenting on the road safety campaign, Dyfed-Powys Police Chief Constable, Ian Arundale, said:

“These results highlight our commitment to addressing this serious issue. Research indicates that you are four times more likely to crash while driving and using a mobile phone. Obviously there is an element among the motoring public that continue to put themselves and others at risk by driving while using a handheld device.

“We would encourage drivers to switch off their phones while driving; no phone call is so urgent that it requires you to answer it and put yourself and others at risk. We will continue to work closely with our partners to raise awareness, educate and enforce those drivers who continue to flout the law.”

Susan Storch, Chair of Road Safety Wales, added:

“Driving while using a mobile phone is not only illegal but dangerous. It doesn’t just put your own life at risk but more importantly those of your passengers and other road users who may not have a say in your actions behind the wheel.

“We all need to take account of how we drive on our roads and driving a vehicle requires us to multi-task so anything above and beyond that needs to wait until we are safely parked up or until our journey has finished.”

Workplace Law’s Driving at Work factsheet advises that:

“Employers may be prosecuted if they require their employees to use their phones when driving. The DfT has stated that employers cannot expect their employees to make or receive mobile phone calls while driving. This must be reflected in the company’s health and safety policy and risk management policy. Employers will not be liable simply for supplying a telephone or for telephoning an employee who was driving. However, employers must send a clear message to employees that they are forbidden to use their handheld mobile phones while driving and their employer will not require them to make or receive calls when driving.

“Employers should inform their staff that, when driving, handheld mobile phones should be switched off, or, if switched on, the calls should be left to go through to voicemail, and that a safe place to stop should be found to check messages and return calls. Company policy should specify that using a handheld phone or similar device while driving is a criminal offence and will be treated as a disciplinary matter.”