Number's up for drivers who ignore police mobile phone warning

It comes after a recent one-day police initiative called Operation Bantis - carried out jointly with Carrick, Larne, Newtownabbey and Lisburn District Policing Partnerships - detected 38 drivers using their handsets in the space of just 15 hours.

And Inspector Colin Audley, police community safety officer for D District, has urged local motorists to change their behaviour or risk destroying lives.

He said: “Despite media coverage of this initiative, it seems some motorists are still not getting the message that this practice is dangerous and could result in someone being seriously injured. Not only could they end or ruin someone else’s life, but could destroy their own and their families with the consequences handed out by the judicial system.

“Our message to those drivers who continue with this offence is crystal clear - change your behaviour, and divert your call, not your attention. That phone call or text message can wait until you pull over. It’s not worth your life or the life of another person. We all need to be 100 percent focused on driving when we are behind the wheel.”

Carrick councillor and chairman of the local DPP, Stewart Dickson, said it was “very important” that the message gets through to drivers.

“Not only is using a mobile while driving illegal, it is also very dangerous, to yourself and to other road users and pedestrians,” he added. “Drivers cannot split their attention between the road and their mobile phones. I would urge people to just switch off their phone while driving and get a bit of peace. If you have a missed call or a text message, it will still be there when you pull over and you can reply to it then.”

Insp Audley said research has shown that if you drive and use a mobile phone, you are four times more likely to have a collision and nine times more likely to be in a fatal collision, as texting and driving is worse than drunk driving. He also said that younger drivers are more likely to text while they drive, even when they know it is dangerous, and added that the concept of young people being better at multi-tasking when using their electronic devices is a myth when it comes to driving.

“Using a mobile phone while driving affects your ability to concentrate and anticipate the road ahead, putting you and other road users at risk,” he said.

When asked if he thought the law should carry stricter punishments for people caught using mobiles behind the wheel, cllr Dickson said: “I think the current system of penalty points is probably the correct way to deal with the problem at this moment in time.”