UK DRIVERS will face a £200 fixed penalty notice and six points on their licence under a new law coming into effect next year.
As part of a Government crackdown on road safety, drivers will be banned from scrolling through playlists on handheld devices.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced it is planning to strengthen laws from next year to make it easier to prosecute drivers using and holding their phones at the wheel.
Current UK laws ban drivers from texting or making a phone call (other than in an emergency) while using a handheld device.
But from 2022 that will go one step further and drivers will not be allowed to take photos or videos, scroll through playlists or play games on their phones when driving.
Anyone caught using their hand-held device while driving will face a £200 fixed penalty notice and six points on their licence.
Drivers can still use devices such as sat navs and mobile phones using satellite navigation, if they are secured in a cradle.
But motorists must take responsibility for their driving and can be prosecuted if the police find them not in proper control of their vehicle.
Grant Shapps on UK driving law change
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “By making it easier to prosecute people illegally using their phone at the wheel, we are ensuring the law is brought into the 21st Century while further protecting all road users.
“While our roads remain among the safest in the world, we will continue working tirelessly to make them safer, including through our award-winning THINK! campaign, which challenges social norms among high-risk drivers.”
AA and RAC back driving aw change for 2022
President of the AA Edmund King said: “By making mobile phone use as socially unacceptable as drink-driving, we are taking big steps to make our roads safer. For years, the AA has campaigned hard and helped educate drivers to the dangers from bad mobile phone use.
“To help ensure drivers get the message, we also need more cops in cars to help catch and deter those still tempted to pick up.”
RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “As our phones have become more sophisticated, the law has not kept pace and this has allowed some drivers who have been using their handheld phones for purposes other than communicating to exploit a loophole and avoid the maximum penalty.
“While today’s announcement is clearly good news, it’s absolutely vital that the new law is vigorously enforced otherwise there’s a risk that it won’t deliver the sort of behaviour change that will make our roads safer.”
MORE NEWS:
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here