Mobile
Phones
As has been highlighted in the media recently it
is now an offence to use a hand-held phone, or similar device,
when driving.
The penalty is now an immediate 3 penalty points endorsed on
your driving license, together with a £60 fixed penalty fee, or
up to £1000 on conviction in court (£2500 for drivers of goods
vehicles, buses or coaches)."
The regulations mention a ‘similar device’ that
is anything that performs an interactive communication function
by transmitting and receiving spoken or written messages,
photos, videos or providing access to the Internet.
Apparently 2-way radios are not subject to these new
regulations.
Provided that a phone can be operated without
holding it, then hands-free equipment is not prohibited by the
new regulation. Pushing buttons on a phone while it is in a
cradle or on the steering wheel or handlebars of a motorbike for
example is not covered by the new offence, provided you don't
hold the phone.
However, hands-free phones can be distracting and you still risk
prosecution for failing to have proper control of a vehicle
under Regulation 104 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use)
Regulations 1986 if you use such a phone when driving. If there
is an incident, the use of any phone or similar device might
justify charges of careless or dangerous driving.
Navigation systems and other computer equipment can still be
used while driving providing that it is not a hand-held device.
Although you must exercise proper control of your vehicle at all
times.
The new regulations apply to the drivers of all
motor vehicles on the road, including cars, motorcycles, goods
vehicles, buses, coaches and taxis.
In addition they also apply to anyone supervising a learner
driver, while the learner driver is driving. However, the new
regulations don’t apply to passengers, although you may wish
they did!
In addition the mobile phone regulations don’t apply to
cyclists, however, the police do have powers to deal with
careless or dangerous cycling.
Please remember that the new prohibition includes those times
when you are stopped at traffic lights or during normal traffic
jams. If the traffic jam is so bad that you have turned your
engine off then in such cases hand-held mobile phones are okay
as you could not be ‘driving’.
As with any regulation there are a number of exceptions. For
example you can call 999 in genuine emergencies where it is
unsafe or impractical to stop the car. There is also an
exemption for the use of 2-way radios.
Someone asked the other day if it was okay if they cradled the
phone between their ear and shoulder? The answer is no. You
can’t hold the phone between your ear and shoulder - or anywhere
else – for that matter.
Employers who require their employees to use a hand-held phone
while driving may also be liable since the new regulations apply
to "anyone who causes or permits any other person" to use a
hand-held mobile phone while driving.
Remember, if you are involved in an accident you may be
prosecuted for careless or dangerous driving if you were using a
phone at the time of the crash. The penalties on conviction for
such offences include heavy fines, endorsement, disqualification
and, in serious cases, imprisonment.
Julia Powell,
Partner,
Higher Rights of Audience Advocate
Glaisyers solicitors
Printing House Street B4 6DZ
T: 0121 233 2971
E:
juliapowell@glaisyers.co.uk
