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Using mobiles on the road "is unacceptable"

26/03/08

Police in the south-west have criticised motorists who continue to use a mobile phone while driving, despite the practice now being illegal.

Speaking to the Cornishman, Inspector Richard Pryce of Devon and Cornwall Constabulary said that driving and using a phone at the same time cannot be explained away as a mistake; rather, it is a "conscious decision".

His comments came after the constabulary launched the latest instalment of Operation Vortex, a campaign to clamp down on motorists who still use a phone while driving or commit other car-related crimes.

The operation saw some 500 drivers stopped in the first two weeks, with 394 tickets - 72 for mobile phone-related offences - being issued, potentially affecting these motorists' car insurance premiums.

Inspector Pryce said that there are so many drivers committing such offences "police officers are falling over them", rather than finding them hard to track down.

"Picking up the phone to make a call is not inadvertent and it is unacceptable. It is complacency and this is what we are trying to bring home," he commented.

Operation Vortex was also carried out last year, with a total of 1,000 drivers stopped over a period of a month. Action was brought against 728 motorists, with 161 targeted for using a mobile phone on the road.

"In some instances, the drivers were holding the phone whilst also significantly exceeding the speed limit. This attitude to driving simply cannot be tolerated on the road," Inspector Pryce said after the conclusion of the campaign in December.

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