454 Dyfed Powys drivers caught using mobile phones!

Nearly 1,000 motorists were caught using their mobile phones while at the wheel during the 2012 All-Wales Anti-Mobile Phone While Driving campaign last month.

The two-week campaign, involving road safety partners in Wales, aimed to raise awareness among motorists about the real dangers involved when drivers break the law through phoning or texting at the wheel.

Officers from all Welsh police forces carried out proactive patrols to target motorists who endanger other road users through this behaviour and educated drivers on the penalties they face if caught.

During the campaign, officers detected a total of 972 mobile phone driving offences.

• In the Gwent area a total of 128 fixed penalty notices were issued, while South Wales Police issued 242 notices to law-breakers.
• In the Dyfed Powys force area 454 notices were given, while in North Wales a total of 148 offenders were caught and apprehended.

Dyfed Powys Police Supt Huw Rees said, “Driving while using a mobile phone is not only illegal but dangerous. It doesn’t just put your own life at risk but also the lives of your passengers and other road users who may not have a say in your actions behind the wheel.

“We would encourage drivers to switch off their phones while driving; no phone call is so urgent that it requires you to answer it and put yourself and others at risk. We will continue to work closely with our partners to raise awareness and educate but we will also prosecute those drivers who continue to flout the law.”

Susan Storch, Chair of Road Safety Wales added: “We all need to take account of how we drive on our roads and driving a vehicle requires us to multi-task so anything above and beyond that needs to wait until we are safely parked up or until our journey has finished.

“While it’s saddening to see that so many motorists got caught using a mobile phone whilst driving it has also demonstrated the resolve of all the Road Safety Wales partners in tackling this issue and we will continue to work together to drive home the message that you need to switch off before you drive off.”

Councillor Richard Clark, Torfaen County Borough Council’s Executive Member for Corporate Governance & Community Safety, said: “Once a driver uses their phone, they are not focusing on the road and this lack of concentration can, even for a split second, be devastating.

“I hope campaigns such as this make more drivers, passengers and the Torfaen community more aware of the risks and consequences of using a mobile phone while driving and as a society we see it in the same light as drink driving, speeding and not wearing seatbelts. The dangers are simply too high to ignore.”

Breakdown of mobile phone fixed penalty notices by Dyfed Powys Police county