Roadside mobile phone detector targets drivers

Funded by the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, the pioneering mobile phone detector equipment will be able to detect the use of hand-held devices within vehicles whenever they drive past the sign.

Mobile phone detector technology

The technology combines a mobile phone detector with a Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) so that pedestrians using a mobile cannot trigger the sign.

When a car passes by and mobile phone is being used by one of its occupants, the sign displays a warning message. The mobile phone detector campaign is at present intended to alert drivers to the law, and thereby spark behavioural change, rather than issue fines and points. At present, the road sign is activated if the driver or passenger is using a mobile. However, the company that developed the technology, Thermotor, says it would be possible to refine the detector so that it targeted only the driver.

It has been against the law to use mobile phones behind the wheel for 14 years, but the threat of fines and points has not put an end to this dangerous behaviour. Drivers caught using a mobile phone while driving will receive three penalty points on their driving licence and a fine of £100. If a case goes to court, the driver may be disqualified from driving. Drivers can use hands-free phones and sat navs when driving, but if the police think the driver is distracted they can still be stopped and penalised.

In 2014, 1.6 per cent of all drivers in England and Scotland were observed using a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving. That equates to over 400,000 drivers, but the true figure is likely to be far higher.

A survey by the Institute of Advance Motorists found over one in four young drivers had accessed the internet while driving.

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