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Road safety campaign launched to remind motorists to concentrate on the road ahead (22 March 2017)

Date: 22/03/2017
Duncan Lewis, Crime Solicitors, Road safety campaign launched to remind motorists to concentrate on the road ahead

Road safety experts from Road Safety GB North East are working with the police to urge motorists not to be distracted at the wheel of their cars, after new legislation came into force on 1 March that will see people issued with six penalty points and £200 fines for using mobile phones while driving.

Road Safety GB North East revealed that drivers using a mobile phone while driving – either hand-held or hands-free – were four times more likely to be involved in a collision than other drivers.

The group is launching its “Stay Focused on the Road” campaign to coincide with the new government rules designed to crackdown on mobile phone use at the wheel.

The tougher sanctions are being brought in amid mounting concern about increasing numbers of people using mobile phones at the wheel – and the lack of prosecutions and conviction of offenders.

The Department for Transport is hoping that the new sanctions will act as a strong deterrent to drivers.

Not only will those caught get a £200 on-the-spot fine – but if they are caught twice and accrue 12 points, they will automatically appear in court and face a fine of £1,000 and a driving ban of at least six months.

However, new drivers will be hardest hit – they face having their licences revoked after the first offence and to regain their licence must re-apply for a provisional licence and may only drive as a learner until they pass further theory and practical tests.

Chairman of Road Safety GB North East, Paul Watson, said the tougher laws on mobile phone offenders were welcome news.

“While you’re driving the car is not the time to start multi-tasking – switch off your phone, leave the radio alone, keep conversation to a minimum and just focus on the road around you,” said Paul.

“We see it all the time – people driving with one hand on the steering wheel and a phone in their other hand, without any regard for the law or the safety of other road users.

“People simply do not appreciate the danger they are putting themselves and other people in when they are making calls or texting while driving. Just looking away for a split second is all it takes to hit a cyclist or pedestrian, or run into a stationary car – when you’re talking, you’re not concentrating on the road.”


Paul said if a driver travelling at 30mph spent an average of two seconds looking at their phone, they would have travelled 27 metres while not looking at the road – more than twice the length of a double decker bus. At 40mph, they would travel 36m – more than three times the length of a double decker bus; and at 70mph, a driver would travel 63m, which is almost the width of a football pitch.

The figures could also be used to calculate the risk when the driver is distracted for any reason – not just by mobile phones.

During the last five years, there have been 1,415 road traffic casualties in the northeast, where a collision occurred involving a distracted driver – around 5% of total casualties in that period between 2011 and 2015. Of that number, four people were killed and 113 were injured because they, or someone else involved in the collision, was driving while distracted by a mobile phone.

During the five-year period, 10,182 fixed penalty notices were issued and 2,445 drivers in the region convicted in Magistrates’ Courts of the offence of using or causing others to use a mobile phone while driving.

Duncan Lewis Criminal Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Criminal Solicitors can advise at any stage of a motoring offence, including motorcycle crime, anti-social behaviour, speeding offences, careless or dangerous driving, DUI, vehicle maintenance offences, driving uninsured, driving without a licence or driving and using a mobile phone.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide – and a Duncan Lewis solicitor can usually reach a police station for interview under caution within an hour.

For expert legal advice on motoring offences, call Duncan Lewis motoring solicitors on 0333 772 0409.

For 24/7 help at a police station, call the Duncan Lewis Solicitors 24-Hour Emergency Helpline on 0333 772 0607.


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