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Driving rules on using your mobile phone behind the wheel have been tightened in Scotland and the rest of the UK from today.
Previously, drivers were banned from making phone calls, text messages or accessing the internet from their mobile device while driving.
But this has now been expanded to keep up with the technological advances made since the law first hit the roads in 2003.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said that the rule change will make it ‘easier’ for the authorities to prosecute drivers using their mobile phones.
The changes comes after the Department for Transport found that in 2020, 17 people were killed, 114 were seriously injured and 385 people were slightly injured in road traffic accidents in 2020 alone.
All of the crashes involved someone using a mobile phone or device.
The move to widen the rules has been welcomed by a number of motoring organisations, including the RAC and the AA.
Here is everything you need to know about the mobile phone rules from today.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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What is illegal?
The law on mobile phones has been widened to make it illegal for drivers to use a handheld mobile phone under virtually any circumstances while driving.
From today, it will be illegal to do the following while driving a vehicle:
- Illuminate the screen
- Check the time
- Check notifications
- Unlock the device
- Make, receive, or reject a telephone or internet based call
- Send, receive or upload oral or written content
- Send, receive or upload a photo or video
- Utilitse the camera, video or sound recording
- Draft any text
- Access any stored data such as documents, books, audio files, photos, videos, films, playlists, notes or messages
- Access an app
- Access the internet
The punishment for breaking the rules
Scots will face being issued with a fine and penalty points on their licence if they are found to be in breach of the rules.
The UK Government has said that the penalty could be a fine of up to £1,000 as well as six point on their licence or a full driving ban.
Exemptions to the rules
Drivers will still be allowed to use their device ‘hands free’ while driving, providing that it is secured in a cradle – which will allow motorists to use their phone as a sat nav.
They will also be allowed to make contactless payments – to pay for the likes of takeaways at a drive through or for parking – as long as their vehicle is stationary.
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