Starting early 2017, drivers who use their mobile phones while behind the wheel at the UK will risk losing their license, if a proposed new set of rules is enforced.
As Autocar reports, the government wants to adopt a zero-tolerance policy, dropping the option for remedial driving courses and doubling both penalty points, from three to six, and fines, from £100 to £200.
This comes three months after a family of four was killed in an accident caused by a lorry driver, who crashed into their car while looking at his cell phone. Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed her will to make the act of using a cell phone while driving “socially unacceptable” and is being backed by others, such as the Freight Transport Association head Ian Gallagher, who said that “these proposed changes should go some way towards making all drivers think about the consequences of their actions”.
It’s not just talking, either, as previous data gathered by the RAC indicated that the number of people who checked in their social media accounts in traffic or stationary rose from 14 to 20 percent in the past two years.
“Despite the repeated warnings and campaigns on the matter, it seems that motorists continue to take the ‘it’ll never happen to me’ approach by using their mobile phones while behind the wheel”, head of corporate communications at Sheila’s Wheels insurance company Emma Banks pointed out. “These individuals are not only endangering their own lives, but also those of any passengers, fellow motorists and pedestrians.”
