Drivers in Staffordshire are being warned not to put lives at risk by using their mobile phone at the wheel.

It comes as new figures reveal that 959 motorists were prosecuted in the county for using a handheld device in 2022.

Of those, 46% were driving a commercial vehicle such as a van or HGV at the time.

A new PhoneFree campaign has been launched to educate drivers on the dangers of using their phones at the wheel.

Inspector Mark Joynson, of Staffordshire Police’s road policing unit, 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 phone whilst 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.”

Insp Mark Johnson, Staffordshire Police
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John Allen
1 year ago

Good to see this is being clamped down on, although I am surprised that so many have been caught, with the shortage of police. The way the law was set up, a member of the public needs a witness to report offenders, or of course filmed evidence. Surely we have the technology to stop this practice, but it’s not in the financial interests of the mobile phone companies to use it, so legislation is needed.