Paying the price for using a mobile phone while driving
Using a hand held mobile-phone while driving could cost £60 and 3 penalty points.
Motorists who are caught using a hand help mobile-phone while driving could now be given a £60 on the spot fine and have three penalty points added to their license.
It was found that 21% of drivers admit to using their mobile phones without a hands free device since the previous law was introduced in December 2003.
This new law being brought in today will be especially prominent in the minds of new drivers who face having their license taken away if they receive six penalty points in their first year of driving.
A survey by Direct Line suggested that motorists in Cardiff, Newcastle and Southampton are the worst offenders and in 2005 motorists on a mobile were responsible for 13 deaths and more than 400 injuries.
The law has even been tightened up on the use of bluetooth headsets and Inspector Douglas Kirkham from Lothian and Borders Road Policing Branch, warned that if drivers were found not to be in control of their vehicle while using a bluetooth headset, they too could be prosecuted.
It was found that 21% of drivers admit to using their mobile phones without a hands free device since the previous law was introduced in December 2003.
This new law being brought in today will be especially prominent in the minds of new drivers who face having their license taken away if they receive six penalty points in their first year of driving.
A survey by Direct Line suggested that motorists in Cardiff, Newcastle and Southampton are the worst offenders and in 2005 motorists on a mobile were responsible for 13 deaths and more than 400 injuries.
The law has even been tightened up on the use of bluetooth headsets and Inspector Douglas Kirkham from Lothian and Borders Road Policing Branch, warned that if drivers were found not to be in control of their vehicle while using a bluetooth headset, they too could be prosecuted.