KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
they are in a hands-free kit and wherever possible make sure that you are stationary with the handbrake on whilst using them to ensure there is no drop in the standard of driving.
When positioning them on the windscreen make sure they are out of the way and not blocking your view of the traffic ahead or any mirrors.
WHEN WILL IT COME INTO FORCE?
There is no specific date for when the legislation will come into force. However, we do know that it will be early 2022.
• Drivers will still be able to use a device hands-free (if that use does not cause a drop in the standard of driving, as that may be considered driving without due care and attention).
• The law will cover mobile telephones and any device that can perform communication functions, but not two-way radios.
WHAT WILL THIS MEAN IN PRACTICE?
Holding and using any mobile telephone or PDA device whilst driving, anything that can send or receive messages or access the Internet, will be an offence.
The law will remain that the vehicle does not necessarily need to be in motion for an offence to be committed. Even being stationary at a red light or in traffic will be considered “driving” for the purposes of the legislation.
There will be an exemption for using a two-way radio. Likewise, there will be an exemption for using a phone to make a contactless payment. There may well be more exemptions as technologies progress.
The law will however allow use of a phone in a hands-free cradle, but only to an extent. Whilst using a phone in a cradle hasn’t been strictly prohibited, the government has taken measures to explain that drivers will still be responsi- ble for the standard of their driving, and if it falls below that of a careful and competent driver they could be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention, or even dangerous driving.
PRACTICAL ADVICE
Our advice is simple - put phones away. For professional drivers who need to use such devices to work, make sure
DECEMBER 2021
When it does, it will not not have retrospective effect. This means if somebody is caught, for example, taking a photo whilst driving in February and the law comes into force in March, that person could not be found guilty due to the change.
The law would take effect for all cases committed on or after the date it comes into force.
ANY CHANGES TO THE PENALTIES?
No. The current sentence for driving whilst using a mobile telephone is six points with a £200 fine if you are offered a fixed penalty, or six points or a discretionary disqualification together with a maximum £1,000 fine at court.
If the police believe that the hands-free kit is blocking your view of the traffic ahead, or perhaps caused you not to have full control of the vehicle, that is an offence called ‘driving whilst not in proper control’ and carries three points.
If using the phone causes a drop in the standard of driving that can be an offence of driving without due care and attention which carries between three to nine penalty points or a disqualification, or more seriously if they consider the drop in the standard of driving is far below that of a careful and competent driver, then there could be a charge of dangerous driving which carries a minimum 12-month disqualification, an extended retest at the end of it and community orders/prison in the most serious cases.
If you need any advice on motoring matters, please email
advice@pattersonlaw.co.uk or for regular updates on road traffic law follow us on
twitter.com/Patterson_law_ or on
facebook.com/PattersonLawMotoringSolicitors
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