Mobile phones and driving



It is illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving, or to “cause or permit” that use. Both employer and user can be held liable. “Use” includes holding the phone in the driver’s hand and cradling it between head and shoulders. Use is prohibited even when in stationary traffic if the engine is running.



It can also be illegal to use a hands-free mobile phone set while driving. Depending on individual circumstances, drivers could be charged with “failing to have proper control of their vehicle” and in more serious cases, the use of either type of phone can result in prosecution for careless or dangerous driving. The police can check phone records when investigating serious and fatal crashes, to decide whether phone use contributed to the crash.
The Road Safety Act 2006 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2008 created the offences of “causing death by driving without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons” and of “causing death by driving when unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured.” Drivers who kill while distracted by an avoidable activity at the wheel could face a prison sentence (see the case of Tomasz Kroker below). Avoidable distractions include, for example, calling or texting on a mobile phone, drinking and eating, and applying make-up.



Guidance from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Driving for work: Mobile phones, strongly discourages the use of hands-free mobiles when driving, indicating that “a substantial body of research shows that using a hand-held or hands-free mobile phone while driving is a significant distraction and substantially increases the risk of the driver crashing”. Mobile phone users are four times as likely to crash, injuring or killing themselves or other people. The guidance is available from its website (https://www.rospa.com/rospaweb/docs/advice-services/road-safety/drivers/mobile-phones.pdf).


New penalties for driving while using a mobile phone are now in force. These mean that drivers can now get six penalty points and a £200 fine if they use a hand-held phone. They could also be taken to court and banned from driving and/or be fined up to £1,000. The maximum fine is £2,500 for bus and lorry drivers. Drivers who passed their driving test in the last two years will lose their licence if they are caught illegally using a mobile phone will driving. In October 2016, lorry driver Tomasz Kroker was jailed for 10 years after his lorry ploughed into the back of a car and killed its four occupants, including three children, while he was scrolling through music on his mobile phone. He had pleaded guilty to four charges of death by dangerous driving.


Government guidance can be found at www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law.