The number of drivers prosecuted for using a phone behind the wheel has nearly halved in the last five years. This has been found despite a separate study suggesting the practice has become more commonplace.
Data released by the Ministry of Justice last month reveals that in England and Wales last year, there were 17,414 prosecutions for drivers using their phone at the wheel. This marks a 47 per cent decrease compared to 2009, when 32,571 prosecutions for the same crime were made.
Prosecutions are recorded when a case reaches the courts, usually because the driver involved ignored or chose to challenge the fixed penalty notice given when caught using their phone behind the wheel. A driver may also be summoned to court for this offence if they already carry too many penalty points, or if the offence is deemed too serious for a fixed penalty notice.
Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT), however, suggest that the use of phones while driving has actually increased. A study from the DfT found that in 2014, 1.6 per cent of drivers in England – that’s more than half a million people – were observed using a mobile, which is an increase from 1.4 per cent in 2009.
The DfT has also found that the number of accidents where mobile phone use was a contributory factor has increased from 349 in 2010 to 492 to last year.
The RAC comments that there is “an enormous gulf between what the law states – that handheld mobile phones should not be used behind the wheel – and what motorists see happening on our roads”.
According to the RAC’s annual Report on Motoring found that over a third (34 per cent) of drivers rank the dangers of talking, texting or using the internet on mobiles while driving to be one of their top concerns.
Earlier this month, the House of Commons’ transport select committee began an inquiry into the effectiveness of road traffic law enforcement.
