Over 500k Brit drivers face disqualification over a single touch of their phone – are you one of them?
MORE than 600,000 drivers face a road ban from one touch of their phone, a charity has warned.
Those caught using a mobile at the wheel — even for a second — face a £200 fine and six points on their licence.
On August 5, 547,287 drivers already had six points and 94,088 were on nine points.
And the additional six for touching a mobile will usually end up in a six-month disqualification.
Virtually all hand-held use of mobile phones on Britain’s roads is banned.
A loophole allowing drivers to escape punishment for hand-held phone use if they were taking a photograph or playing a game was closed by new legislation in March last year.
Department for Transport statistics show 22 people were killed and a further 148 were badly hurt in crashes on Britain’s roads in 2022 where a driver using a mobile phone was a contributory factor.
Nicholas Lyes, of IAM RoadSmart said: “Anyone with six points who is tempted to text or take a selfie on their phone is not only risking a ban but is a potential danger to other road users.
“A pinging phone can be a massive distraction, so it is best to put it out of sight, out of reach and on silent.”
Some cyclists frequently use footage recorded by their head cameras to report illegal mobile use to police.
Michael van Erp, who runs the CyclingMikey YouTube channel, said he has reported 1,555 drivers for motoring offences since 2019, resulting in a total of 2,161 penalty points being handed out.