ARE you aware that if you are sitting in your stationary car with the engine on, using your mobile phone for any reason, you could be breaking the law?

A surprising number of people believe that as long as their car is not moving, for example stuck in traffic, then they can use their phone, but this is not the case; even if the engine is not running. It is even an offence to have the device in your hand.

Dave Dedman, a solicitor with Watson Woodhouse, explains that if you are in your car and you want to use your handset – or your sat nav – you must be parked safely, with the engine off and the handbrake on.  Unless there is a genuinely hands -free system in place.

“It is an offence to use a mobile phone or a sat nav while you are in your vehicle with the engine running – whether you are driving, at the traffic lights, waiting in a queue of traffic, or even just stopped at the side of the road,” he says.

“If you get caught, it’s six points on your licence, and a fixed penalty of £200 if you decide not to go to court. If you choose to fight it in court, you could face paying far more in costs. And it could also affect your insurance premiums.”

The ramifications could be even worse if you are a new driver. If you get caught on your phone within the first two years of passing your test, not only could you get six points, but you will have your licence revoked which would mean redoing both parts of the test.

Using a mobile while driving could have more of an impact than you realise. Studies show that it is more distracting to be speaking to someone on a phone, than it is to be talking to a passenger. And if you are dialling or texting, or setting a sat nav while moving, your attention is not on the road where things can change very quickly.

It is also important that if you have a hands-free kit or a sat-nav, you do not place them on the windscreen where it could impede your view. As a rule of thumb, it should not be in the area cleaned by your wipers.

If you are involved in an accident, the police may well ask if you were using your phone, even if it’s on hands free.  If you were, it may be a factor in deciding who was at fault which could lead to a charge of driving without due care and attention. In certain circumstances you could even be prosecuted for dangerous driving, and face a minimum one-year ban and a re-test before you are allowed to drive again.   

So, the advice is that you should not use your phone when you are driving. If you must, then you should have a genuinely hands-free system and even then be very careful.  If you don’t have hands-free, then put your phone where you won’t be tempted to pick it up, and ensure you are parked safely with the engine turned off before you use it.