Prison threat to mobile phone users

Company car drivers caught using a mobile phone when behind the wheel could soon face a prison sentence.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is currently considering the findings of a public consultation and is preparing a raft of changes to the way drivers are prosecuted.

At present drivers who use their phone while driving risk a £60 fine and three penalty points but in future they may be charged with dangerous driving which can carry a two-year custodial sentence.

If their actions resulted in a fatal accident, drivers would then face 14 years in prison under the charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

Sir Ken Macdonald, director of public prosecutions at the CPS, is reported at saying that his organisation accepted that in cases where there is clear evidence that danger has been caused by the use of a phone, such as texting while driving, then its policy should spell out the starting point for charging – dangerous driving.

The proposals have the backing of a number of other organisations, including Brake.

A spokeswoman for road safety charity said it supported the recommendations and called for people caught using their mobile phone, even when there has not been an accident, to incur six points and a £1,000 fine.