ONE TAP TOO FAR...
CAN TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE DRIVERS ACCEPT JOBS ON A PHONE WHILE DRIVING?
Article by Talal Malik, Solicitor Transit Legal
www.transitlegal.co.uk
The modern taxi and private hire trade is now inseparable from mobile technology. Bookings are commonly allocated through apps. Navigation is usually screen-based. Passenger contact may be routed through operator platforms. Drivers may be expected to respond promptly to job offers, revised pick-up information, destination changes, operator messages and passenger communications.
That operational reality does not relax the law on mobile phone use. It often sharpens the regulatory risk. For a licensed taxi or private hire driver, an allegation of unlawful device use is rarely confined to the fixed penalty
regime. It may also become evidence
considered by a licensing authority when assessing whether the driver remains a fit and proper person to hold a licence. Where the conduct occurs while carrying passengers, while plying for hire, while undertaking booked work, or as part of repeated app- based driving behaviour, the licensing implications may become more serious.
The statutory starting point is Regulation 110 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. An amendment to the regulations in 2022 widened the offence so that it is no longer confined to interactive communication in the narrower pre- existing sense. The amended regulation refers to devices capable of transmitting and receiving data, even where that capability is switched off or temporarily unavailable. The amendment also widened the concept of “use”, including activities such as illuminating the screen, unlocking the device, checking the time, checking notifications, accessing an application, accessing the internet, photographs or video, and making or rejecting a call.
taking
The Department for Transport’s public guidance expresses the position in more direct terms: it is illegal to hold and use a phone, sat nav, tablet or other device capable of sending and receiving data while driving.
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The guidance also confirms the standard fixed penalty consequence of six penalty points and a £200 fine.
For taxi and private hire drivers, that means a driver must not: pick up a phone to accept or reject a booking. They must not hold the device to read fare information, check a destination, review a passenger message, respond to an operator, or browse available work while the vehicle is being driven. The fact that the interaction is work-related does not remove it from the scope of the offence. A booking app is not treated differently because it forms part of the driver’s means of earning a living.
When may a driver use a device?
There are limited circumstances in which a device may lawfully be used. The clearest is when the vehicle is safely parked. That is not the same as being stationary in ordinary traffic. A driver stopped at traffic lights, queuing at a junction, waiting in congestion, or paused momentarily in the running lane remains engaged in driving for these purposes.
Government guidance identifies limited exceptions, including use of a handheld device to call 999 or 112 in a genuine emergency
where it is unsafe or
impracticable to stop. It also identifies circumstances involving safe parking, contactless payment in a stationary vehicle, and remote parking functions. Hands-free use may be lawful, but only where the device is not held during use. Examples include Bluetooth, voice command, dashboard holders, windscreen mounts, mats, and built-in sat nav systems.
The practical difficulty for the licensed trade lies in the boundary between a handheld offence and the wider duty to drive safely. A driver may avoid the specific handheld mobile phone offence because the device is secured in a cradle and is not being held. That does not mean the driving is necessarily lawful or professionally defensible. The device must not obstruct the driver’s view, and the driver must remain in proper control of the vehicle. Regulation 104 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 remains relevant where a device, mount, screen, cable or driver behaviour interferes with proper control or a full view of the road and traffic ahead.
AUGUST 2026 PHTM
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