Need to change culture of phone use by drivers says Transport Secretary

There needs to be more plainclothes police patrolling on bikes. Inattentive driving is more apparent to cyclists and mobile phone use is more visible. I routinely see drivers using mobile phones when I'm filtering traffic.

This would have the additional benefit that there will always be a random chance that that inattentive/punishment pass will be delivered to a police officer so something may be done about it.

Taking into account the consequences of RLJ (presuming you mean cyclists) compared to the consequences of texting/web browsing whilst driving you should prioritise the latter much higher.

It's exactly because the average plod may not prioritise it correctly that the lead needs to come from a senior level. Better still a PR job on all of the great British public to move it from being an acceptable minor transgression like drink driving or domestic violence once was to something no one(including a police officer) thinks is just like jumping a red light on a push bike.

I don't own a camera but perhaps a solution would be to start a social media campaign where people supply footage showing how widespread the problem is, especially in London.

Then forward footage to news media, Police and politicians, and pressure them into taking some real action (education and enforcement), rather than writing reports or launching occasional 'blitzes'.

Well done to the Mirror for this campaign - it's not that often that tabloids do something which isn't cynical.

I agree with a number of the other comments here. When I walk around town, I see lots of people using their phones while driving. I had the temerity to look at a guy on the phone in his convertible Porsche this summer, and I got an aggressive 'what!?' from him.

Yes, look at the penalties and information campaigns, but it also needs some policing - if I can walk around and see people on their phones, then so could the police, but they don't.

The main reason the Police won't enforce the law on mobile phone use and ASLs, is that Police drivers themselves regularly flout these laws in their Police cars.

How does that joke go?

I just had to have a go at the women who was putting on make-up whilst driving. Her sudden swerve caused me to drop my electric razor into the coffee between my legs. That splashed hot fluid over my gonads causing me to drop my mobile into the footwell. I'd been able to recover the mobile if she had not have passed me at 70mph on the inside. I mean on the inside lane, I was in the middle lane perfectly safe doing 60mph as I had been for the last 2 mile whilst I reprogrammed the Satnav.. What was she thinking putting make-up and driving at the same time, people really owt to focus on doing one thing at a time.

Is a report really needed to size mobile phone use while driving as an issue? Everyone knows huge numbers of people do it. I commute regularly into central London by bike and I see many instances of this every time I ride. Tell-tale signs are the weaving all over the road or sitting stationary when the traffic in front has driven off. When you overtake them (as you inevitably do in London traffic) you see them staring at or tapping away at their mobile. Many still of course drive one handed talking with their phone to their ear which is even more obvious.

Bit off topic but other classics I have seen when commuting include a guy driving a car while eating a full meal off a plate on his lap with a knife and fork and a woman putting her contacts in - yes while driving.

Talking/texting/surfing is just another one of those habits like speeding or parking illegally that vehicle users don't consider a "real" offence.

As with those offences I would start with education; public information films shown regularly that clearly show the standards expected when in charge of a vehicle.

Because if we can't even get a message to road users that exceeding the speed limit, surfing the web or accidentally on purpose running people over is unacceptable what's the point in having a law that's neither enforced or prosecuted.

Im still to be convinced there's actually any will to fix this problem, solutions are easy, it's just not that many people actually care.

Scrap the existing law on phone use while driving, it's ineffectual anyway, and replace it with a law to automatically take away the driving license of anyone involved in an 'incident' where the use of a mobile phone is found to have contributed.

The police don't do any enforcement that affects their public support. They need that for when they are in pay dispute with Teresa May and for when they want latitude to 12-hour kettle students. They won't put a drink drive stop outside the golf club on a Saturday night, they won't look at 20mph urban limits, they won't do ASLs or phone use.

I can sympathise with them actually. And why should they take a goodwill hit to stop phone use when we can't bite the bullet and stop the equally dangerous hands-free use, even in HGVs?

I don't buy the notion that it's entirely down to enforcement, rather than size of penalty: it's a combination.

People flout the law because they know that there's little chance of being caught, and even if they do, they don't really fear 3 points and £60.

Up the penalty to a one year ban for a first offence, and I suspect that a large proportion of people wouldn't run the risk of getting caught, even thought that risk is so small.

I don't see any reason for not getting draconian with this one. Unlike just about every other motoring offence, there's no way you can use a mobile phone whilst driving by accident.

Many of the people I see on their phones weren't even old enough to drive when the law changed 10 years ago to make this dangerous activity illegal.

How people use their phones is changing too, from talking to now Texingt/Facebook/Emails etc.

Quote:

Cases dropped from 9,600 to 4,200 when the £100 fine was introduced and McLoughlin believes a lot of the impact could be put down to the related publicity. “It was partly getting people to think and be aware.”

Or did police funding get cut?

You basically need policing by Police and not cameras. No-one thinks they're going to get caught at the moment.
Lifetime loss of licence if you have a crash using a mobile.
A year's loss if you're just found using one.

In car jamming of mobile phone signals. While they are doing it, GPS systems to enforce speed restrictions and alcohol testing linked to the ignition. Just feckin do it.

Oh, great another report to wait for.

There are three issues

1. A good minority think it is acceptable
2. The chance of being caught is bugger all
3. The fine is about the same as a tank of fuel for most.

All mobile use including camers, social media etc & hands free conversations needs to be taken as seriously as drink driving.
Needs instant bans of at least a year & fines/penalties for companies that expect & permit drivers to use phones whilst driving.

Speed cameras have taught motorists to behave at the point of enforcement. Average speed cameras extend this to a zone of enforcement. Drivers obey the rules when they believe they are being watched and will be penalised. Extend this to more of the road network and driver behaviour improves.

Method one (cheap and easy): Encourage helmet and dash-board camera users to submit footage and follow this up with fines after cross referencing with phone company data. Giving drivers the impression that they may be recorded and fined at any time by other road users. The risk of this approach is creating nutters like Traffic Droid, the benefit it that it is the public policing itself (anyone remember 'Big Society'?).

Method two (expensive): Cameras on street signs at driver level take photos of all passing drivers.
Image analysis software flags up all images showing potential breaches.
These images get checked manually and the time cross referenced with their phone company leading to fines sent and points being sent to errant drivers.
Do a trial run by tweaking using existing cameras like those on the entry to congestion charging zones.

Biggest piss take of London motorists is mobile phone use whilst driving, everyone is doing it, perhaps because they've realised how weak Police enforcement is on London roads?

You really notice it whilst cycle commuting because you sit above the height of the car driver and have a very clear line of sight. Its also very easy to see lorry and bus drivers holding mobile devices. Especially at night as drivers faces are illuminated by the glow of the screen.

If you stand next to a red light in London and walk along the pavement, you will see many drivers using phones, even tablets!

I also regularly encounter stationary vehicles at junctions or seconds after traffic light has changed to green, 9/10 times the driver is too absorbed in their text, web browsing or call to notice.

If the Police really wanted to take this issue seriously and make some money for the authorities they would only need to have cycle Police and plainclothes Police on duty during rush hour, instead of sporadically posting uninterested PCSO at key junctions.

A report. What for?

Hire more traffic police, get them out policing, will soon change things.

As he says, people need to be caught.