Shropshire Star

Action needed to tackle menace of drivers using phones

News that more than half of young drivers in the West Midlands freely admit to using their mobile phones while driving is as predictable as it is disturbing.

Published

The figures show that drivers below the age of 25 are twice as likely as other age groups to talk on hand-held phones while driving, while 30 per cent admit to taking pictures or making videos. Astonishingly, 12 per cent have even admitted to playing games on their phones while driving. 

These people are not just playing with their phones, they are playing with people's lives.

It is worrying in itself that a whole generation appears to be so addicted to their phones that they cannot leave them alone even when they are driving. That it is also the age group which is, by some margin, that most likely to be involved in a serious of fatal collision, is all the more concerning.

It is not as if there is a shortage of cases where the dreadful consequences of driving while using the phone have been laid bare, but despite this, the message does not appear to be getting through. 

Now it looks like artificial intelligence may offer at least part of the solution to this disturbing trend. Last year Devon and Cornwall Police tested the UK's first free-standing AI camera to spot traffic offences, and the result was 300 drivers caught in just three days.

This may not be popular with those who have fallen foul, but it is clear that the present enforcement measures are not working. We can only hope, that by spreading this scheme country-wide, the authorities will finally get a grip on this menace once and for all. 

It is regrettable that such measures are necessary, but we cannot continue to this danger to go unchecked. It is imperative that anyone who uses their phone while driving does so in the knowledge and expectation that they will be caught and punished.