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Threat of jail for mobile phone drivers
Driving ban stepped up a gear

By Reuters

Published: Friday 21 December 2007

UK motorists caught talking on a handheld mobile phone or sending a text while driving could be jailed under new guidelines.

In the most serious cases, they could be charged with dangerous driving, which carries a two-year maximum sentence and an unlimited fine, according to a BBC report.

Currently, motorists face an automatic fine and three points on their licence under the lesser charge of careless driving.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Ken Macdonald, said earlier this year drivers who flout the law and drive dangerously should face tougher penalties.

He said: "There is widespread public concern about the use of mobile phones and other handheld electronic equipment while driving."

No one at the Crown Prosecution Service could be reached immediately for comment.

Using a mobile phone while driving was banned in 2003 but thousands of drivers break that law each day.

Motoring groups said some drivers ignore the ban because the police have failed to charge enough people.

Sheila Granger, campaigns manager at the RAC, told the BBC: "We'd like to see police on the streets, taking action. The best deterrent is for a motorist to be either pulled over themselves or know someone else who has been stopped."

The ban does not cover hands-free phones but drivers who use them can still be charged if police think they are not in control of their car.

Drivers are four times more likely to crash if they are holding a mobile or sending a text while at the wheel, the Department for Transport says.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne was fined £100 last month after admitting to speaking on his mobile while driving in Birmingham.