Understanding ‘mobile phone use’
while ‘driving’
Up to now, we have been talking rather uncritically
about ‘mobile phone use while driving’. However,
research has shown that many people do not know
what it means to use a mobile phone while driving.
This includes police officers as well as members
of the public¹, and is easy to understand given the
complicated language of the law, the ways laws
are simplified in the media, the ways people talk to
each other about what is ‘ok’ and what isn’t, and the
range of capabilities and types of technology that
we have now.
Whilst not the only law that can be used to prosecute
mobile-using drivers, The Road Vehicles (Construction
and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations state that:
“(1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a road if
he is using— (a) a hand-held mobile telephone; or (b) a
hand-held device … other than a two-way radio, which
performs an interactive communication function by
transmitting and receiving data.
(a) a mobile telephone or other device is to be treated
as hand-held if it is, or must be, held at some point
during the course of making or receiving a call or
performing any other interactive communication
function…
(c) ‘interactive communication function’ includes the
following:
(i) sending or receiving oral or written messages;
(ii) sending or receiving facsimile documents;
(iii) sending or receiving still or moving images; and
(iv) providing access to the internet.”²
This legislation was developed in 2003, and has not
been amended since (though the penalty has, of
course, changed). This is despite the capabilities of
mobile phones in 2003 as being dramatically different
to what they are now - from a device able to receive
some 2G phone signal, send/receive messages and
make calls, to a device that is, essentially, a fully-
fledged computer and entertainment system you can fit
in your pocket.
New challenges also stem from the creation of devices
such as smartwatches that are
worn rather than held, and whether their ‘use’
constitutes an offence using this legislation.
Can I….?
If you find yourself being asked if a particular
activity is ‘allowed’ or not (as we get asked all
the time), or if ‘they can do you for it’ or not,
try reframing the question in terms of whether
you ‘should’ rather than ‘can’. We shouldn’t be
focussing on what is legal, so much as what is safe
- and unfortunately these aren’t always the same
thing.
¹ Savigar, L (2018). Preventing mobile phone use while driving: appreciating the equivocal nature of identity, safety and legality in an uncertain world
(Unpublished doctoral thesis). Keele University, Staffordshire.
² The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003: 1.
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