However, since 1 December 2003 it's been an offence to use a mobile phone while driving, and on 27 February 2007 Section 26 of the Road Safety Act came into force, increasing the penalty from £30 to £60 plus three penalty points.

Numerous reports on the use of handheld mobile phones whilst driving confirm that using such a device impairs your performance as a driver; specifically, it reduces your reaction times and general awareness of other traffic and your surroundings. 

Unsurprisingly, using a handheld mobile phone increases the risk of you being involved in an accident.
 
Unfortunately, there are a number of reports concerning drivers distracted whilst using handheld mobile phones who've been convicted for causing death by dangerous driving or driving without due care and attention.

Such convictions can result in drivers being sentenced to jail, given driving bans and/or fined.  A large proportion of those cases reported are serious road traffic accidents that might have been avoided had the driver not been distracted. 

A female driver was sentenced to almost two years in jail and given a three-year driving ban following a conviction for dangerous driving, after she was found to have sent a series of text messages as well as making two calls prior to colliding with a vehicle that had stopped on a busy dual-carriageway awaiting the recovery services. 

Similarly, a lorry driver was jailed for four years when it was found he'd been using his new mobile phone minutes before colliding with the last vehicle in a line of traffic waiting to exit the motorway, causing a five-vehicle concertina collision.
 
So with all this evidence against their use whilst behind the wheel, why do motorists continue to use them?
 
If you're involved in an accident and you believe the other driver was using their mobile phone, you should make your insurer and/or your solicitor aware of the fact as soon as possible. If such an allegation is made, then a request can be sent to the other driver's representatives for disclosure of their mobile phone bill (if one exists), and in some cases this can certainly help to support your claim.

Unfortunately, it's not always possible to obtain this sort of evidence – for example where the other driver has a pay-as-you-go phone – and even when the records are disclosed they're not always conclusive.

Nevertheless, it's an important allegation to make and should be followed through regardless of whether the records support it.
 
The key message, though, has to be that you shouldn't use handheld mobile phones when driving. Aside from the potential for criminal prosecution, the harm you could do to others as a result of being distracted and/or not being in full control of your car could be catastrophic.

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