Drivers caught using phones for first time now face points

Under new government plans drivers in England, Scotland and Wales caught using a mobile phone for the first time will automatically receive penalty points.
Previously, motorists in some police force areas could avoid points by taking a remedial driving course. However ministers believe it is not a tough enough measure to deter people from using a hand-held phone while driving.

They have also confirmed plans to raise fines for offences from £100 to £200 and penalty points from three to six.

The scrapping of the driving course option is among several measures announced in a government response to a consultation on punishments for drivers caught using hand-held phones.
The government first announced that it was going to increase fines and double penalty points in September.

The new measures, which are due to take effect next year, follow the jailing last month of lorry driver Tomasz Kroker, who killed a mother and three children while distracted by his phone.

Fine numbers plummet

The number of fines issued for motorists caught using a mobile phone illegally has plummeted by 84% since 2011.

Some 16,900 drivers were handed fixed-penalty notices in England and Wales last year, compared with 123,100 in 2011, Home Office data shows.

Motoring groups believe the decline is due to a 27% fall in the number of full-time dedicated roads policing officers in England and Wales (excluding London) between 2010 and 2015.

Department for Transport figures show that a driver being impaired or distracted by their phone had been a contributory factor in 440 accidents in Britain last year, including 22 which were fatal and 75 classed as serious.

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: "By ruling out courses and doubling the fine, ministers are reflecting public concern and showing they want to stamp out a potentially lethal activity before it becomes entrenched behaviour for a growing number of drivers."

The measures will not affect Northern Ireland, where drivers are currently given three penalty points and a £60 fine for the offence.

The Department for Infrastructure has said there are no plans to change this, but it "will continue to monitor changes being made in Britain to see what can be learned".

Source BBC

End of the middle lane hogs?

Fed up of getting stuck behind a tractor on a long and winding country lane? been soaked by a motorist driving through a puddle? you may finally have a reason to celebrate.

New figures show the police have handed out around 10,000 on-the-spot fines in one year under new laws which allow them to give £100 tickets to inconsiderate or careless drivers.

The crackdown on anti-social driving has seen people performing the following actions given fines and given three penalty points on their licence.

• Tailgating
• Middle lane hogging
• Undertaking 
• Wheel spins
• Handbrake turns
• Driving down roads closed for repairs
• Soaking pedestrians with puddles 
• Tractor drivers not pulling over & letting traffic by
• Dirty windscreens
• Driving with a obstacles blocking view on passenger seat. 

The figures show 9,852 penalty notices were handed out for the careless driving crimes in the 12-months after the new powers came into force in August 2013, The Sunday Telegraph reported. 

Before then, the offence could only be dealt with in court and many drivers escaped punishment because of the bureaucracy involved.

Yet the figures show that some forces are using the new powers more than others. 

Gwent Police handed out 608 of the tickets - compared to Essex where not one motorist was fined on-the-spot for careless driving. 

The most tickets - 1,397 - were given out by the Metropolitan Police.

RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said he was happy to see the powers being used but hoped they would be used consistently across the country.

He said: 'As with using mobiles at the wheel and drink-driving, it is not enough to outlaw anti-social behaviour on the roads. People need to believe they will get caught. These figures suggest in several areas they won’t.' 

But road safety minister Robert Goodwill welcomed the figures, adding: 'Careless driving can risk lives, and I am glad to see police tackling these offences at the roadside.

'This is exactly why this government brought in a fixed penalty notice so officers can deal with offenders on the spot rather than having to prosecute offenders through the courts.'