12th Report - Road safety: driving while using a mobile phone

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government accepts, "in principle", the recommendation to redefine the hand-held mobile phone offence and says it will review it, but it sets out reasons for not committing to a hands-free ban and "does not fully accept" the recommendation on government drivers.

• On the hand-held offence, it "will review" it "with a view to updating it", and "would, of course, consult before making any change". It expects proposals for a way forward "by Spring 2020".
• On hands-free use, it acknowledges the risks but cites enforcement that "would be hugely problematic" and says the work "would take time". It plans instead to seek views through the roads policing review and consider Highway Code changes.
• On penalties, it says it is "cautious about increasing penalties further, especially after just two years", though it will consider the current penalties as part of its review of the offence.
• On the roads policing review, it "accepts the principle" of the recommendation but says the review "is not geared to providing an operational response" to this issue.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error