Using a Mobile Phone While Driving — Solicitor Birmingham

Before 25 March 2022, the offence under regulation 110 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 was limited to using a hand-held mobile phone or device for an interactive communication function. This meant that using a phone to take photographs, scroll through music, or use certain apps was not caught by the specific mobile phone offence (though it may have constituted careless or dangerous driving).

From 25 March 2022, the law was extended under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2022. It is now an offence to use a hand-held device while driving for virtually any purpose, including to take photographs or videos, to access or download any data, or to use any application. The interactive communication requirement was removed.

The penalty remains six penalty points and a fine of up to £1,000 (£2,500 for bus or lorry drivers). There is no power to offer a fixed penalty of three points for this offence — it is always six points.

Specific exemptions apply. A driver is not committing the mobile phone offence if they are using the device as a satellite navigation device when it is mounted in a cradle and the driver is not holding it. They are also not committing the offence if they need to make a 999 call in a genuine emergency where it is unsafe to stop, or if they are stationary and not in a queue of moving traffic (though this position has been complicated by subsequent case law and David advises on the specific circumstances). Hands-free use is not an offence under the mobile phone regulations, though it may constitute careless driving if attention is impaired.

New drivers (those within two years of passing their driving test) face automatic revocation of their licence if they accumulate six or more penalty points. A mobile phone conviction alone — carrying six points — is sufficient to trigger automatic revocation. The driver must then re-apply for a provisional licence and re-sit both theory and practical tests. There is no exceptional hardship argument available for new driver revocation, unlike the totting-up ban for established drivers. David advises new drivers on whether the specific allegation can be contested before the conviction is entered.

Defences include: that the device was not a hand-held device as defined; that the device was not in use as alleged; identity (the driver was not the defendant); and that the specific use fell within an exemption. The prosecution must establish that the device was hand-held and that it was being used in the manner alleged. David advises on whether a defence is available in the specific circumstances.