High Court Clarifies Law on Using Phone Whilst Driving

Darren

On 31 July the High Court handed down a judgment which clarifies the law on the offence of using a mobile phone whilst driving.

The judgment states that it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt that the phone was being used for an 'interactive telecommunication function' at the time of the alleged offence.

Previously any interaction with your phone whilst driving was deemed an offence and the law has been slow to catch up to the numerous other purposes for which we use smartphones these days. Now there is a clear distinction between using the features of a smartphone such as navigation and music and the telephony features.

There is still the catch-all legislation of driving without due care, so this this is not a green light to drive one handed whilst holding your phone in the other and looking at a map. A good car mount should still be considered an essential but it does at least now mean we can use the SatNav and music functions and interact with them without fear of a fine so long as common sense is applied.

Source: pattersonlaw.com

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Darren Griffin

philmay · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 20, 2006 Posts: 1

The majority of smartphones now use voice recognition (e.g. SIRI etc.), surely there is no reason to actually have to touch your phone, especially where music choice is concerned. And as for using SatNav, the same common-sense rules apply as with using a dedicated SatNav unit. i.e. Set your route BEFORE you drive off, not whilst actually driving.

K13ehr · Lifetime Member Joined: Jul 12, 2008 Posts: 286

Thanks, I've passed the link onto members of my own forum.

Kev.

MaFt · Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:04 am Post subject:

K13ehr · Lifetime Member Joined: Jul 12, 2008 Posts: 286

My car doesn't understand me Sad

b33jay · Lifetime Member Joined: Apr 05, 2012 Posts: 255

Which makes my g-d 'caught' touching a mounted smart phone to change music channel and getting £200 + 6 points at 8.15 am on the day the higher penalty came in a bit miffed.

sussamb · Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 5:30 pm Post subject:

If it was mounted then she must have done more than touch it, the law applies to handheld phones, not those mounted in holders Wink

https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
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Graculus · Lifetime Member Joined: Mar 07, 2006 Posts: 51

There is still a lot (almost everything these days) that includes an 'interactive telecommunication function'.

Sat-Nav such as Google Maps is constantly interacting with Google for traffic, map updates, route planning. Even "self-contained" sat nav apps like TomTom are constantly communicating back to base.

Unless you are playing music loaded onto your phone, Spotify, etc. are communicating across a network.

Even with photos, if you have set up your phone to synchronise photos/videos back to Google/Microsoft/Apple/whoever, that could be classed as an 'interactive telecommunication function'.

And then there is the legislation about not being able to see a video screen from the driver's position unless it's specifically driving related (e.g. reversing camera), so watching pre-loaded movies is still very much OUT. Could this include the phone's screen showing the (live) video being shot?

As for the person who thinks they "got off", I hope the police now prosecute for not being in proper control.

Kremmen · Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 6:26 pm Post subject:

Whilst it's not dangerous as such, I see so many vehicles not moving off when traffic lights go green because the driver is fiddling with a phone, both in a holder or being handheld.

Some drivers may only be doing something SatNav related or similar but it's this delay that probably attracts the attention of police.
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DennisN · Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:26 pm Post subject:

Is Bluetooth an 'interactive telecommunication function'? Twisted Evil

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M8TJT · Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 11:32 pm Post subject:

No it's a wireless communication technology and perfectly OK as long as you don't hold it in your hand.

b33jay · Lifetime Member Joined: Apr 05, 2012 Posts: 255

sussamb · Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 1:02 pm Post subject:

Really? If my phone had been in a holder I'd have contested it.
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M8TJT · Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 1:38 pm Post subject:

And the proof would be? Unless the reporting officer admits that it was.

sussamb · Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 3:18 pm Post subject:

Who knows? Perhaps that's why the judgement is that it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, in which case it would have to be more than one policeman's word Confused

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