Police catch over 100 Surrey drivers on phone while driving in 5 days on A3, M25, and M23
Startling data from Surrey Police has revealed the extent of mobile phone use on Surrey’s roads. In just five days in November officers recorded a staggering 141 mobile phone offences on our roads. With so many driving dangerously motorists are being asked to turn those mobiles off.
These numbers come as part of Operation Tramline, a campaign spearheaded by National Highways. In order to try and decrease the number of people killed on their roads they have leased a HGV to different forces across the country to try and catch drivers in the act. In their most recent outing Surrey Police[1] were inundated with drivers illegally using handheld devices between November 13 and 17.
Over five days they issued at least 115 standard tickets for offences in this area. These drivers receive 6 points on their licence and a GBP200 fine. With so many offences recorded, this means 690 points and GBP23,000 worth of fines were handed out in 120 hours.
The data also shows that 12 people were regarded as not suitable for a ticket and were sent straight to court. This was because they already had 12 or more points on their licence or had committed another point-worthy offence. On top of this two people were arrested in cases where mobile phones were involved.
Drivers using handheld devices were by far the most common offenders.
71 per cent of stops initiated by police over the 5 days were for motorists misusing technology. Sargent Dan Pascoe, from Surrey Police’s Vanguard Road Safety Team, told SurreyLive that using a mobile phone was a “fatal five” offence. This means that it is one of five offences that account for most fatal road accidents in Surrey.
The others are using inappropriate speed, not wearing a seat belt, driving under the influence of drink or drugs and careless driving. Sargent Pascoe, said that using a mobile lowers your driving ability to that of drink driver “at best.” He also reiterated that “as of March last year legislation was strengthened making enforcement easier.” These new rules “outlaw any use of a handheld mobile phone.” while driving. The legislation that Sargent Pascoe is referring to covers all handheld devices including sat navs.
It is illegal to have one of these devices in your hand at any point even if stopped at traffic lights, queuing, or supervising a learner driver. There are a few select exemptions such as needing to call 999 or 112 in an emergency when it’s unsafe or impractical to stop or making a contactless payment in a vehicle that is not moving, for example at a drive-through restaurant. The six point fine given means that any diver who passed their test within the past two years would get their licence revoked.
You can technically use devices hand-free such as with a Bluetooth headset or voice command. However , Sargent Pascoe said “we are asking drivers not to interact with mobiles at all, including when in a cradle. If your driving is seen to be negatively affected by the cradle you could be committing a number of offences.”
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References
- ^ Surrey Police (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
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