The first figures have been released showing the numbers of drivers fined for using mobile phones at the wheel. Nearly 2,000 motorists were issued with fines totalling £56,640 in the month after the new law was introduced on December 1, 2003. That suggests the government may have collected more than £1m in fines to the start of June 2005.
Anyone caught using a mobile phone while driving faces a minimum £30 fine or a maximum of £1,000 if the case goes to court. Penalties are stiffer for drivers of buses, coaches, vans and lorries, who face fines of up to £2,500. The government plans to increase the minimum penalty to £60 and impose three penalty points under an amendment to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
The Home Office figures show a wide disparity between police authorities in enforcing the new law. Of the 1,888 motorists fined in the first month, 681 were stopped by the Metropolitan police, while Devon and Cornwall police issued 345 fines.
Avon and Somerset police and Greater Manchester police were among 20 out of 43 forces in England and Wales that issued no fines.
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