Sometimes countless warnings fail to improve people’s behavior. One example is using the mobile phones while being on the roads, driving. UK police has taken strict measures against the drivers after set of penalties failed to result in better conduct.
The countless messages and the strict warnings have not so far been able to reduce the number of drivers which are being caught every day for the offense. This has forced the authorities to increase the up-front penalty from £100 to £200, also to double the penalty points from 3 to 6. This means that motorists have to strictly adhere to the rules or they risk losing their driving license.
Despite the restrictions and crackdown, police reported that they have recorded approximately 6,000 instances who have committed the offense in the first four weeks after the new and tougher penalties came into force on March 1st, 2017, with more than a third of them in London. In other words, more than 70 drivers are caught using their mobile phones while driving in London, each day. Police also claims that the actual authentic count is much higher than the recorded numbers as many forces have not yet submitted their cases and many cases went unlogged too for assorted reasons.
The offenses have been many but the following are the most common ones and could have cost many lives, as reported by the Police:
- Phone usage while driving cars and lorries
- Foreigners texting on M2 in Kent while driving
- Foreigners trying to navigate using their phones
- Driver of a school Minibus making a call in Manchester
- On Motorway 5, near Birmingham, a man was using online banking facility
- Women texting about the petty issues
“One must stay extra vigilant while driving, keeping the eyes and attention on road instead of mobile phone’s screen.” requests Steve Gooding, director of the motoring research charity.
With as widespread as these numbers are of the drivers using phones illegally while driving, it ultimately calls for more policing reps and authorities to process the penalties and to register and log the offenses.
Jack Kushner, a spokesman for road safety charity Brake, described that the countless drivers recklessly use their mobile phones while driving, not considering the massive consequences this can cause. He also mentioned that the lack of attention while driving can take many lives and that he fails to understand why the severity of this message is not reaching to the drivers. A possible solution being increasing the penalties even more as using cell phones is reportedly the major cause of most accidents in the United Kingdom.
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing Anthony Bangham said: “New penalties and strict actions taken to curb this new vibe of using cell phones while being behind the wheel, has shown some results but drivers must take it into account that they may get prosecution, added to the tougher punishments, that are yet to be introduced, if this careless attitude persists.