§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will introduce legislation to ban the use of hand-held mobile phones by drivers of a vehicle which is in transit. [89234]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonMy noble Friend Lord Carter stated the Government's position in the Second Reading debate on Lord Davies of Oldham Private Peer's Bill to make it an offence to drive while using a hand-held mobile phone. We are not persuaded at the moment that specific legislation is desirable.
Existing road traffic legislation places the responsibility on drivers to have proper control of their vehicles at all times. Any motorist who fails to do so, for whatever reason, is liable to prosecution. Drivers may be charged with failing to exercise proper control of a vehicle, or either careless and inconsiderate driving or dangerous driving, if using a mobile phone causes them to drive in such a manner. The Association of Chief Police Officers considers that this existing legislation is sufficient for the police to deal with cases arising from the use of a mobile phone while driving.
We believe that we are best placed to concentrate our efforts on publicising the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving. A publicity campaign was mounted last year. If persuasion is unsuccessful, we would be prepared to consider legislation at some time in the future.