Mobile Phone Offences

There are three main offences relating to use of a mobile phone whilst driving and they are as follows:

Use by the driver;
Causing or permitting the use by the driver; and
Supervising a provision licence holder whilst using.

0161 6606 183

The offences can usually be dealt with by way of a fixed penalty of 3 points and a fine of £60 but if the matter were to proceed to Court, the fine would be means tested and limited to £1,000 or as much as £2,500 for drivers of HGVs, coaches or buses.

The first offence is the most common one and is committed by a person who drives a motor vehicle on a road whilst using a handheld mobile telephone or other specified handheld device. A device is deemed to be “handheld” if it must be held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or of performing any other interactive function. This includes making or receiving calls, sending or receiving messages and using the internet.

You may have a defence if the call was to an emergency service (999) in response to a genuine emergency and it was not safe or practical to stop driving in order to make the call.

It may be that the police decide to pursue a different or more serious allegation dependant on the quality of driving that arises whilst using a phone, such as not being in proper control of the vehicle or driving without due care and attention. These allegations may also apply when using a hands-free mobile, so be aware, nobody is immune from a prosecution if your driving is adversely effected even by using a hands-free system.

Please call us for full clarification concerning the laws relating to use of mobile phones while driving.

Mobile Phone Offences

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