Starting next year, the river will be banned from scrolling playlists on handheld devices as government Strictly crack down on road safety.
this Department of Transportation (DfT) announced plans to strengthen the law starting next year to make it easier to prosecute drivers who use and drive with mobile phones.
According to current British law, drivers are prohibited from texting or making phone calls when using handheld devices (except in emergencies).
Starting in 2022, drivers will not be able to take photos or videos, scroll through playlists, or play games on their phones while driving.
Anyone who uses a handheld device while driving will face a fixed penalty notice of £200 and a 6-point driver’s license.
Drivers can still use satellite navigation and mobile phones and other devices that use satellite navigation if they are fixed in the cradle.
But drivers must be responsible for their driving. If the police find that they are not properly controlling their vehicles, they may be prosecuted.
Minister of Transport Grant Sharps Said: “By making it easier to prosecute people who use mobile phones illegally, we ensure that the law is brought into the 21st century while further protecting all road users.
“Although our roads are still one of the safest in the world, we will continue to work tirelessly to make them safer, including through our award-winning THINK! campaign to challenge the social norms of high-risk drivers.”
The crackdown was carried out after a public consultation, which found that 81% of respondents supported the proposal to strengthen the law.
By making it easier to prosecute people who use mobile phones illegally, we ensure that the law is brought into the 21st century while further protecting all road users
Highway regulations will also be revised to make it clear that staying still in traffic is considered illegal to drive and to use hand-held mobile phones when traffic lights or highway jams are illegal, except in very limited circumstances.
Mary Williams, CEO of Road Safety Charities brake Said that coincides with Road Safety Week, these changes are “very welcome.”
AA Chairman Edmund King said: “By making mobile phone use as socially unacceptable as drinking and driving, we are taking major steps to make our roads safer. For many years, the AA has been working hard to run campaigns and help Educate drivers to pay attention to the dangers of bad mobile phone use.
“To help ensure that drivers get information, we also need more police officers in the car to help catch and stop those who still want to answer.”
RAC Road Safety spokesperson Simon Williams said: “As our mobile phones have become more and more complex, the law has not kept pace, which has allowed some drivers who use handheld phones for purposes other than communication to exploit loopholes and avoid maximum fines.
“Although today’s announcement is obviously good news, the vigorous enforcement of the new law is absolutely crucial, otherwise it may not be possible to achieve the kind of behavior changes that make our roads safer.”
