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Jail for 'phone-drivers'

20/12/2007

People caught driving dangerously while talking on their mobile phones could face jail under new guidelines published today.

The crown prosecution service (CPS) has updated its guidance after research showed many motorists were flouting the current law forbidding them from using a handheld phone while driving.

But despite the new steps the majority of drivers are still likely to be liable for the standard £60 fine and three penalty points.

Sir Ken Macdonald QC, CPS director of public prosecutions, said: "The revised policy responds to public concern about the dangers of driving while using a mobile phone and this means a charge of dangerous driving will now be the starting point for this offence, where there is clear evidence danger has been caused by its use."

The RAC Foundation has welcomed the tougher guidance from the CPS, which could see drivers using mobile phones and driving dangerously given a two-year jail sentence if convicted.

Its campaigns manager, Sheila Rainger, told the Today programme motorists talking on their phones often led to "outrageous acts" being committed on UK roads.

"We still see terrible crashes where people have been texting, where they've driven into the back of stationary queues because they haven't seen them.

"So it's entirely appropriate to have this charge available for those extreme circumstances."

Speaking on the same programme, Robert Gifford, of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (Pacts), said most offenders would continue to avoid jail.

"What the CPS will be considering is are there aggravating factors that will have contributed to that crash occurring; for example was the driver clearly driving too fast, were they overtaking dangerously, were they indulging in close following and aggressive behaviour and were they using a handheld mobile phone or sending a text message," he explained.

"These are the kind of factors that the CPS will look at when bearing in mind whether to go for the charge of careless driving, driving without due care and attention, or the more serious one of dangerous driving."