Using a mobile phone whilst driving

Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations1986, regulation 110
No person

• shall drive
• shall cause or permit any other to drive …
• shall supervise a holder of a provisional licence

on a road, if that person is using a hand-held mobile telephone

It is a specific offence to use a hand–held phone or similar device, when driving. Most offences will be dealt with by way of 3 penalty points and a £60 Fixed Penalty Notice but if the matter proceeds to a Court hearing, the fine can be as much as £1,000 or £2,500 if you were driving a bus, coach or any heavy goods vehicle.

In some circumstances, for example if use of a phone has caused or contributed to an accident, the Police may prosecute for driving without due care or dangerous driving in order to secure a more severe punishment.

A device is deemed to be “handheld” if it must be held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or of performing any other interactive function. This includes making or receiving calls, sending or receiving messages and using the internet.

You may have a defence if the call was to an emergency service (999) in response to a genuine emergency and it was not safe or practical to stop driving in order to make the call.

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