Star comment: Keep the mobiles turned off

We shall see about that.

A police crackdown is not a real crackdown unless there are resources and effort put in to it, so we shall see about that too.

West Mercia Police's Chief Superintendent Stephen Cullen says: "We will be stepping up our efforts over this week to crack down on motorists who are blatantly ignoring both the law and the dangers involved in order to raise awareness of the change in legislation.”

Here is something to ponder as you sit in a jam. What proportion are getting away with it? People who are on the road a lot will probably have a better sense than most. But even those who do not spend hours at the wheel will probably have seen drivers making or receiving calls. There is plenty of evidence to show that this is dangerous, but you do not really need it, as it is intuitively obvious that any distraction increases risk.

Yet there is a problem. Smart phones have for many people become more than a tool. They are virtually an extension of themselves. To ignore an incoming message or call consequently takes enormous willpower, and not everybody has that strength. In any event, despite the increased penalties which can now be slapped on offenders, if people are not being caught, then the penalties are theoretical, something that the unlucky will get, while the majority get away with it.

There is a similarity with speeding. Police have tried to crack down on speeding since the earliest days of motoring. Some reckless late Victorians who exceeded 14mph found themselves heavily fined, by the standards of the day, by magistrates who were suspicious of the new-fangled motor cars which really did frighten the horses.

Speed limits have changed over the years, but the problem persists. If motorists know there are speed cameras about, or are in front of a police vehicle, they will be law-abiding. Once the law becomes invisible, and the obvious danger of being caught has lifted, a proportion of motorists will break the law and exceed the limits.

Heavier penalties may make people think twice, but police visibility and technology are key if using mobile phones while driving is to be stopped, alongside a psychological campaign which drives home the message that it is anti-social, which has done so much to destroy any lingering notion that drink-driving is socially acceptable.

There is a place for mobiles in the car - turned off and in the glove box.