Fury as police chiefs say drivers caught using phones should go on courses rather than face new penalties
POLICE chiefs have sparked outrage after they said drivers caught using a mobile phone should not have to face tough new penalties but go on a course instead.
From March, drivers who are found making a call of texting will be handed a £200 fine and six penalty points on their licence.
Speaking at a conference last week, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, national lead for roads policing, said police have to be "proportionate" in the response if they catch a driver using a phone while in a traffic jam, .
She added that she had received a letter from the Secretary of State for Transport who believed strongly that police should not give drivers the option of attending a course if they are caught on a mobile phone.
Ms Davenport said: "I wrote back and said I do have some sympathy with that view but you have to be proportionate.
"For example, if you are stationary in a traffic jam and aren't moving anywhere, I don't think it is appropriate to be given six points.
"However chief constables will make the decision about how they enforce it, but the default should be fines and points rather than drivers being put on a course."
Ms Davenport's response to the Government's new rules has been criticised.
Roger Lawson, campaign director for the Association of British Drivers, said he was "astonished" and claimed police are only looking to make money from the courses.
He added: "They seem to think they are a law unto themselves."
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This week there has also been calls for lorry drivers to be banned from using sat nav systems which are designed for cars as they cause chaos when they go down roads that are too small for them of on bridge's they're too heavy for.
The Local Government Association (LGA), representing more than 370 councils in England and Wales, wants legislation brought in to make it compulsory for all lorry drivers who use sat-navs to use the appropriate devices.
It is illegal to use a handheld phone while driving, with those falling foul of the rules facing penalty points and a fine.
Though the threat of being fined does not seem to stop some motorists.
In December, a driver in a Santa hat was caught chatting on the phone while driving on the M4.
He can be seen holding the white phone to his ear.
Realising he was being watched by fellow motorists, he then quickly puts the phone down.
Dean Cranston spotted the rogue Santa, realising the driver was on the phone as the car was crawling along the busy motorway.
He told The Sun Online: "He was driving quite slow and I was behind him.
"As I overtook him I realised he was on the phone and wearing a Santa hat."
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