4 February 2008
New punishments introduced by the government to crack down on drivers' mobile phone use have largely failed, a new study claims to show.
A poll conducted by the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association (LARSOA), of council safety experts, found that three-quarters of members thought the reforms ineffective.
However, there was universal agreement among the officers that the toughening-up of penalties - which saw the fine for handset use on the road increased from £30 to £60 and a three penalty point fine added - was a good idea.
LARSOA Chairman Malcolm Burns said: "The message here is that the tougher penalties are clearly not having the intended effect - our members are continuing to see people flaunting the law by using mobile phones while driving.
"Using a handheld phone behind the wheel means that you are not concentrating 100% on driving and that is putting your own life at risk and the lives of other road users."