Police focus on road safety in the Borough of Scarborough
North Yorkshire Police says they have been actively targeting motorists flouting the law
North Yorkshire Police says there been no let-up in their efforts to improve road safety in the Borough of Scarborough.
Just yesterday at around 11am (Tuesday 3rd May), officers carried out a ‘pop-up’ operation in Muston which involved stopping a driver who was using his mobile phone while travelling along Mount View.
As well as this offence, the 33-year-old man from Doncaster was also driving without a valid driving licence and therefore was not insured to be behind the wheel of a white Volvo V40 car.
He admitted his guilt to these offences, and he will be undertaking a driver improvement scheme in relation to the dangers of using a mobile phone whilst driving.
The Volvo was towed away, and the man had to arrange other means of travel back to South Yorkshire.
Throughout April, Neighbourhood Policing Teams have been actively targeting motorists flouting the law.
The areas they have concentrated on are Muston Road and Country Park in Filey, the A1039 through Muston, East Ayton, Wykeham, Snainton, Burniston, Cloughton, Eastfield Industrial Estate and Seamer.
They have issued 21 Traffic Offence Reports (TORs) for ‘using a handheld mobile phone whilst driving’.
15 TORs were also issued for a ‘gass not as prescribed’ offence. This relates to the amount of light that is let into a vehicle by the tinted windows.
Sergeant Dan Thompson, of the Eastfield and Filey Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Road safety is one of our policing priorities throughout this year and these pop-up operations will continue.
“Our education and enforcement approach revolves around the ‘Fatal 5’ traffic offences – careless driving, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, excessive speeding, and distracted driving which includes mobile phone use.
“The majority of offences are dealt with by issuing a Traffic Offence Report (TOR) to the driver at the roadside. The officer then sends this report to the Traffic Bureau at Headquarters who then decide on a course of action.”
Stricter mobile phone law now in operation
New and much stricter legislation came into effect on 25th March 2022 regarding the use of mobile phones whilst driving.
The new legislation takes into account the evolving technology of smart phones since the original ‘hand-held’ offence was introduced in 2003.
The meaning of ‘using’ a phone whilst driving will be expanded to cover things such as checking the time, unlocking the device, checking notifications, making, receiving, or rejecting a telephone or internet-based call, drafting any text, and accessing any stored data such as documents, books, audio files, photos, videos, films, playlists, notes or messages.
The only exemptions will be the existing one of making an emergency call, plus making contactless payment using a phone at a payment terminal for goods or services. The vehicle must be stationary, and the item being paid for must be provided at the same time or after the contactless payment is made.
Such phone-based transactions include paying for a car park or at a drive-through food and drink retailers.
For more information, please go to Changes in the law on driving while using a mobile phone (parliament.uk).