| Head of road policing, Chief Inspector Sandy Bowman, said today that too many motorists were continuing to flout the law, putting fellow road-users at risk.
He said 255 fixed penalties had been issued in the area since the law banning the use of hand-held mobiles while driving began on December 1.
A Dundee barmaid became the first person in Scotland to be prosecuted under the new legislation.
Across Scotland, 3000 drivers were stopped and ordered to pay a financial penalty in the first six months, but traffic officers in Tayside say there will be no let-up in their efforts to crack down on the potentially dangerous act.
Chief Inspector Bowman said, “During accident investigation, one of the things we look for is if a mobile phone has been involved. It is recognised it can be a major factor in distracting people’s attention, which might be a contributing factor in causing an accident.
“We don’t want to be handing out fixed penalties. We would much rather people just stopped using their mobile phone while driving.”
Those detected driving while on their mobile phone are handed a fixed penalty of £30, which if paid within 28 days is not recorded as a conviction and does not warrant penalty points.
However, if the driver fails to pay the £30 within the time limit, the matter is reported to the procurator fiscal and, if convicted, the culprit could face a significantly higher fine of up to £1000 — £2500 for drivers of goods vehicles, buses or coaches.
The law can be difficult for the police to enforce, as they have to witness a driver on their phone before they can hand them the £30 penalty.
Drivers are continuing to ignore the ban despite media coverage, poster campaigns and advice from mobile phone retailers.
“If there are people who are unaware of their responsibilities, all the commercial outlets give advice in respect of the application of the law, and we will continue to use the various media and campaigns to get the message across,” said CI Bowman.
“Employers also have a responsibility to give advice to their employees, because they could be liable.
“Sometimes we think we are knocking our heads against a brick wall. We see vehicles with a baby on board sign and the person driving is speeding or on their mobile phone. They are expecting other drivers to act with caution as they have a precious load on board.
“This is one of the many aspects of the law which we look at continuously, and an issue that arises on a daily basis.”
Next month Tayside Police will be involved in the ACPOS (Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland) national campaign, which includes mobile phone use while driving in a bid to increase awareness. Meanwhile, a “Let’s Have a Safer Summer” campaign will be launched on Monday, which will primarily target drink and drugs driving as well as focusing on mobile phone and other road safety issues.
“During the summer period people are going to barbecues or going out places and stopping for tea and having a drink,” said CI Bowman.
“There has been an increase on a national basis of people detected for drink and drugs driving.
“In this road safety campaign we will tell people, ‘Don’t risk it’.” |
