Mobile phone use whilst driving remains a serious issue

Road safety campaigners are worried that driving whilst using a mobile phone is starting to be seen as a less serious offence.

Paul Newman, whose sister died as the result of a driver using their phone, has spoken out after new figures revealed that the number of motorists given penalty points for the offence has fallen by almost a quarter.

Mr. Newman has voiced his concern that the drop could give a false impression that the problem is fading, when in reality over 100,000 drivers took a re-education course last year to escape points that would be incurred as a result of committing the offence.

According to a Freedom of Information request by the BBC, 2014 saw 72,753 fixed penalty notices handed out to drivers, down from 95,941 in 2013,

Road safety charity Brake said the figures may reflect a "decline in policing resources".

A spokesman told the BBC: "We need traffic policing to be made a national priority, so police have the resources to catch and penalise risky multi-tasking drivers, as well as much higher fines to truly deter phone use by drivers."

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