A new campaign is warning drivers across Lichfield and Burntwood not to use their mobile phones while driving.
Staffordshire Police said a crackdown was taking place alongside a national scheme highlighting the dangers of using mobiles behind the wheel.
Although it has been an offence since 2003, legislation introduced in 2017 means drivers caught now receive six points and a £200, while new drivers would lose their licence.
Figures revealed that 859 drivers were prosecuted across the Staffordshire Police during 2021 – with almost half of those driving a commercial vehicle at the time.
Inspector Mark Joynson said:
“Any kind of phone use can be distracting, taking your eyes off the road, even for a couple of seconds to check a notification or skip songs, can be dangerous as you can’t concentrate on two things at once.
“Using handsfree systems can be distracting too, so the safest thing to do is avoid using your mobile while driving and be phone free.
“Your friends, family, or work colleagues won’t mind waiting for a text, call or message if you’re driving – they would rather you got to your destination safely than not at all. If you need to make a call or text, park up somewhere safely and turn the ignition off.
“If you’re caught using a phone at the wheel you could receive six points and a fine, and new drivers even have their licence removed by the courts.
“The message is simple, help us make Staffordshire’s roads safer by going phone free.”
Inspector Mark Johnson, Staffordshire Police
Of the figures released on those prosecuted in Staffordshire during 2021, 87% of the offenders were men.
Now they’ve cracked down on this crime it would be nice to see them crack down on the county line drug dealing and subsequent money laundering, car thefts, house break ins and gangs of knife carrying youths coming into the city on the train from Birmingham which is all on the increase and seems like it is being ignored. Keep targeting the motorist though as it’s more profitable.
I fully support this crackdown; it is ridiculous that drivers use mobile phones or other similar devices when they are supposed to be concentrating on driving, an accident waiting to happen. It would help if the law was changed so that anyone reporting such offences didn’t need a witness, and we had a sufficient number of police out and about to enforce it. As it is, the number of prosecutions cited is just the tip of the iceberg. It would also help if mobile phone companies were compelled to use the technology available to make the use of phones while driving inaccessible.
Alica you know why the plod are going after mobile users ?, cause it’s easy and no risk to them…why would you risk your yourself doing drug and knife crime when you can sit in a layby getting paid thousands each year for doing nothing ?…no brainer. Police need to be accountable and targeted at top level crime them work down the list. Don’t get me wrong mobile phone driving is not on but at what cost is it getting enforced ?
Unfortunately a crackdown on mobile use is not sufficient any more. With most manufacturers now integrating the phone into a vehicle’s multi-media interface drivers have replaced staring and scrolling through a mobile phone screen with that of the vehicle instead.