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Story URL: http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39128534,00.htm

Fewer than 200 prosecuted under mobile driving ban
Road safety group outraged at lack of enforcement by police...

By Andy McCue

Published: Wednesday 09 March 2005

Fewer than 200 people have been prosecuted in the last 12 months under the new law banning the use of mobile phones while driving.

The ban on driving and using mobile phones was introduced in December 2003 and the latest figures from the Office of the Attorney General include all 197 cases nationwide that have been handled by the Crown Prosecution Service since February last year.

That number is also not broken down into which cases resulted in successful prosecutions and those that ended in acquittal. However, the total also does not include the fixed penalty on-the-spot fines handed out by police as those statistics are not yet available.

The current fine is £30 and three penalty points but the government is set to double that to £60. Those who contest the fine and go to court face a £1,000 fine if found guilty.

But road safety groups have slammed the low figures and urged the government to do more to enforce the ban.

A spokeswoman for road safety charity Brake told silicon.com that people will continue to flout the ban if there is seen to be no deterrent.

"There is an issue of enforcement and we do need to treat it as a serious offence. It has been compared to drink-driving in terms of driver distraction and we would like to see a much higher fine when you consider people who smoke on buses can be fined £1,000," she said.