Officers across Nottinghamshire will be taking part in a crackdown on drivers using mobile phones over the next two weeks.
Mobile phone use is one of the “Fatal Four” offences that contribute to thousands of deaths and serious injuries across the UK each year.
Following a change in the law in 2017, a driver caught using their mobile phone face a fine of £200 and six points to their licence – for those who have passed their test in the past two years that would mean an immediate driving ban and then pass both their theory and practical tests.
Sergeant Craig Luckett, from the force’s roads policing unit, said: “Officers and myself see on a regular basis the fatal consequences of distracted driving.
“Mobile phone usage has been shown to drastically impair driving ability similar to that of a drunk driver.
“Many of those who use phones behind the wheel would never think about drink driving but think nothing of using their mobile phone, being distracted at 30 mph for just over two seconds can lead you to miss 100 ft of the road in front of you – effectively driving blind the entire length of two-and-a-half double-decker buses, drivers using mobiles behind the wheel risk not only their own life but their passengers and every other road user or pedestrian around them.
“The message I wish to broadcast is simple: Every driver has a huge responsibility when they get behind the wheel and no call, text or social media comment is worth losing your life for – or having the death of another on your hands.”
