LEADING online motor insurance broker InsureYourMotor.com has welcomed the announcement by the Department for Transport to ban driving while using hand-held mobile phones. Ministers say the new law is to take effect from December 1 this year, with offenders fined £30 initially or up to £1,000 if their case goes to court. Those caught would also get three penalty points on their licence for each offence.

Research has shown that over a third of motorists (37 per cent) admit to using a mobile phone while driving, despite the fact that this slows down reaction times by nearly 70 per cent.

At least 35 countries have introduced legislation to prohibit drivers from using mobile phones while driving and several more countries are considering imposing the ban.

Japan is the only country to have published an evaluation of the effect of its legislation on accidents involving drivers using mobile phones. Its results show a 52 per cent reduction in accidents involving mobile phone use.

David Harlow MD of InsureYourMotor.com comments:

“The insurance industry is 100 percent behind anything that makes driving safer and accidents a less likely occurrence.”

* According to Kent Police, few people realise that the new law doesn’t just apply to those in the driving seat.

“If you have a learner driver in the vehicle then you can’t use it either,” said a Kent Police spokesman. “We have been handing out leaflets to anyone caught using a mobile at the wheel. But from December we will be issuing tickets. We will be enforcing this law strongly.”