50 signatures reached
To: Patrick McLoughlin
Increase the penalty for mobile phone use when driving
The penalty should be a driving ban, not simply a small penalty. The law is not currently being followed by many people.
Using a phone when driving is very clearly a risk to both the driver using a phone and the public in their vicinity.
The current penalty is not severe enough to discourage people breaking the law and risking their own and others' lives. It only takes a glance into another car to see how common this is.
The issue is not just associated with phone calls, it is also the use of social media that distracts a person from their current task (driving).
Using a phone when driving is very clearly a risk to both the driver using a phone and the public in their vicinity.
The current penalty is not severe enough to discourage people breaking the law and risking their own and others' lives. It only takes a glance into another car to see how common this is.
The issue is not just associated with phone calls, it is also the use of social media that distracts a person from their current task (driving).
Why is this important?
There is no need to use a phone when driving and no call is more important than another persons life. Our roads are more dangerous because of people ignoring the law and they can do this because the risk of getting caught is low and the penalty is insignificant.
Ref summary on p11: http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/mobile_phone_report.pdf
Ref summary on p11: http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/mobile_phone_report.pdf
