Caught! Shropshire drivers still texting at the wheel

Motorists in the county are continuing to flout mobile phone laws despite police warnings and high profile tragedies, officers said today.

More than 2,400 have been fined across the region for using a mobile phone behind the wheel. Today traffic officers continued a week-long campaign, carrying out co-ordinated patrols of main roads across the county.

A taxi driver was among four motorists stopped in yesterday's rush hour, with each issued a fixed penalty notice and given a caution. A lorry driver was also given a warning in patrols in Shrewsbury.

West Mercia Police's Mike Pearce said he was frustrated and shocked daily by the behaviour of motorists.

He said: "If people on their phones saw some of the injuries people suffer in accidents they would act differently. Everybody has busy lives, but it is not worth the risk. I tell drivers that if they cannot trust themselves not to use their phone, they should lock it away so they cannot get hold of it."

Statistics released today under the Freedom of Information Act show 2,437 drivers across the West Mercia Police region, including Shropshire, have been given fixed penalty notices or fined after prosecutions in court since 2012. More than 5,000 have also been stopped and either given a verbal warning or escaped punishment by agreeing to go on a road safety course.

The most fines were dished out in 2013 when West Mercia Police dealt with 703 motorists using a hand-held mobile while driving to either make a call, write a text message or use an app. In 2016 up to October 21, 122 motorists have been given fixed penalty notices for the offence and a further 16 fined following a court prosecution. Since 2012, West Mercia Police officers have handed out 1,260 on-the-spot fines with 1,177 drivers facing court proceedings and being fined. The force, along with the Safer Roads Partnership, has launched this week's campaign to crack down on the number of motorists who continue to break the law surrounding using a mobile phone while driving.

West Mercia Police said the campaign supports its ongoing commitment to reducing road casualty numbers. Further operations will take place throughout the week in the county.

Lorry driver Tomasz Kroker was this month jailed for the deaths of Tracy Houghton, 45, her sons Ethan, 13, and 11-year-old Josh, and step-daughter Aimee Goldsmith, 11. He crashed into them while scrolling through music on his phone in Berkshire.

In Shropshire, lorry driver Ian Glover, 44, was jailed for five years in 2014. He was flicking through profiles of women on an explicit dating website when he hit a Vauxhall on the A5 between Telford and Shrewsbury. He killed Laura Jane Thomas, 20, and seriously injured her fiance Lewis Anthony Pagett.

A female lorry driver who was on her mobile phone when she caused a crash that seriously injured a baby was also jailed for 10 months. Nell Owen was seen throwing a mobile phone into a field after causing the smash on the A470 at Caersws, near Newtown. She was jailed for 10 months last year.

West Mercia Police spokesman Superintendent Daryn Elton said: "Improving the safety of our roads is a year-round commitment. Although mobile phone enforcement is already part of our daily operational activity, we will be stepping up our efforts over the coming weeks to crack down on motorists who are blatantly ignoring both the law and the dangers involved. Many motorists are already aware that using a mobile phone while driving is illegal.

"This includes using your phone to follow a map, read a text or check social media and applies even if you're stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic.

"With smartphones becoming more and more embedded into our daily routines, we are all aware of how useful they can be.

"However, it is unacceptable to allow yourself to be distracted by them while driving, and officers will ensure any motorists doing so face the penalties involved."

Crackdown targets dangerous drivers

With his mobile phone in his hand and his mate illegally in the back of his van, the workman was driving to work texting his boss to say his other mate sat in the passenger seat was ill.

That is when he was spotted by Constable Frank Bridgwater on the police motorbike.

This driver was just one of many pulled over in Shropshire for using his mobile phone as part of the national crackdown on using mobiles behind the wheel. But he was a typical case – a man in a rush who cannot wait a few minutes to either take a call or send a message.

West Mercia Police is holding a mobile phone awareness month in November to tackle this issue.

The Shropshire Star was invited out with Constable Mike Pearce in an undercover police car to patrol around Shrewsbury. He was part of a co-ordinated team looking out for dangerous driving during the busy morning rush hour.

The driver of the van was pulled to one side and then had to make another call from his mobile – to tell his boss what had happened.

The workman was apologetic and revealed that both his parents had died in a car crash so he did not normally drive so carelessly.

He said: "We work on a site up the road, I was texting my boss saying I was going to drop the apprentice off and drop the other one off.

"My phone's been locked in the glove compartment on the way there.

"I lost my mum and dad in a car crash so it's something I don't do.

"My mate in the passenger seat was falling asleep because he's ill so he couldn't text the boss.

"This is something I'm going to learn from now before I mess up."

Constable Pearce said: "The driver will now be reported for two offences, one for dangerous driving and one for using a mobile while driving. Because there are two offences he will probably go to magistrates court for that."

West Mercia Police officers are frustrated that, despite high-profile tragedies, motorists simply aren't getting the message. Tougher laws are promised next year, but in the meantime police are determined to use the powers they have to drive home the message.

This week's operation is all part of getting that message across, although officers will continue to stop and penalise drivers as part of their daily patrols.

One woman whose commute to work was about to be interrupted was driving on the A5 in Shrewsbury with her phone in her hand balanced on the steering wheel.

Constable Pearce spotted it and that her Ford Fiesta had a rear light out. As he pulled up alongside her, she continued to keep the phone in her hand.

After issuing her with a notice to be dealt with by the ticket office, he said: "She was not a happy bunny – she's going to be late for work. There was an increased chance of her having an unnecessary accident because she was going at a slow speed but not looking."

Constable Pearce said that at the moment West Mercia offers an educational course if there are no other offences, but if the driver is not eligible for that they are offered a conditional offer for a fixed penalty – three points and a £100 fine.

He said: "For that young lady she's likely to be offered an educational course unless there are circumstances where she's not eligible.

"She doesn't have to accept that course, she can say no, so in which case the next offer is three points and £100 fine. If she doesn't want to accept that she can go to court. If they've already had points then that's the time they might send them off to court."

Constable Pearce said next year the Home Office said the penalty will increase to a £200 fine and six points for using a mobile while driving.

A taxi driver was spotted using a mobile while driving in Frankwell, so Constable Pearce shot off after him and pulled him over. The driver's details were taken down and will be dealt with by the ticket office.

In one morning two more vans were pulled over for drivers using their phones. One was let off with a caution. The driver admitted using his mobile on speaker phone while holding it in one hand.

Constable Pearce was not certain of what he had seen so gave him a caution.

The driver said: "I think it's not safe, but safer than texting, as then you're looking at it. You hear all the time about people talking on their phone and crashing.

"But I know that's why he pulled me over."

Constable Pearce said: "He said it rang and I just looked at it but he accepted that he shouldn't have looked at it."

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, today welcomed West Mercia Police's pro-active approach.

He said: "We are pleased to hear officers are cracking down on this incredibly dangerous practice. Coupled with the forthcoming increase in penalties for using a mobile phone behind the wheel, we hope this will see a reduction in the number of people using their phones behind the wheel.

"We need to work on changing the mindset of motorists before they step into the car with their phones.

"Drivers need to understand the devastating impact using their phone for just a couple of seconds can have, not just on those killed or injured, but on their family and friends too."