ONE TAP TOO FAR...
Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 creates the offence of careless and inconsiderate driving. Section 3ZA provides that a person is to be regarded as driving without due care and attention where the manner of driving falls below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver.
The Highway Code reinforces that distinction. Rule 149 states that drivers must exercise proper control of the vehicle at all times and must not pick up and use a handheld phone or similar device while stationary in traffic. Rule 150 warns against distraction from in- vehicle systems, including satellite navigation and screen-based information, and advises drivers to stop safely where necessary. Those provisions are not merely theoretical for the trade. They are often the language used by police officers, licensing officers and committees when assessing whether a driver’s conduct was compatible with professional driving standards.
App bookings and mounted devices
The most difficult practical question is whether a driver may accept or reject a job by tapping a phone or tablet fixed in a dashboard cradle.
The answer requires care. If the device is properly secured, does not obstruct the driver’s view, and is not held at any time, the strict handheld mobile phone offence may not be made out merely because the driver briefly touches the mounted screen. That distinction between holding a device and interacting with a fixed device is important. It should not, however, be overstated.
A mounted device is not a safe harbour. If accepting or rejecting a booking requires the driver to read fare information, assess a pick-up location, compare the destination, scroll through job details, type a response, or make a decision based on screen-based information while the vehicle is moving, the driver may still face an allegation of careless driving or failing to remain in proper control.
PHTM AUGUST 2026
That is the legal framework within which app-based work must be judged. The question is not whether the driver was trying to earn a living, whether the app imposed a short acceptance window, or whether the interaction took only a few seconds. The relevant questions are whether the device was held, whether the driver’s view or control was affected, whether attention was diverted from the road, and whether the standard of driving fell below that expected of a competent and careful driver.
There is no official “one-second rule”. A brief tap on a properly mounted device may be materially different from holding a phone, reading several lines of text, scrolling through an app, or typing a message. But that is a practical risk distinction, not a legal exemption. Once the driver begins to read, assess, scroll, type or select between options while the vehicle is moving, the regulatory risk increases significantly.
The Highway Code’s stopping distance material shows that at 30 mph, a vehicle has a typical thinking distance of 9 metres and a total stopping distance of 23 metres. Put another way, 30 mph is about 13.4 metres per second. That means a one-second glance away from the road is roughly the length of a large bus, and a two-second glance is broadly comparable to travelling the length of a 25-metre swimming pool without proper observation. This is not a legal stopwatch test, but it illustrates why reading job details, scrolling through an app or deciding whether to accept a booking while moving may support an allegation that the driver was not in proper control or was driving without due care and attention.
Drivers should also avoid gripping, steadying or partly holding the device while tapping the screen. Where a driver’s hand wraps around the phone or cradle, the factual distinction between a mounted device and a handheld device may become contested. In practice, cases often turn on what the officer saw, what any camera footage shows, where the device was positioned, and whether the driver’s explanation is consistent with the physical evidence.
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