Theresa May has called for motorists to be shamed out of using mobile phones while driving, after a spate of high-profile accidents.
The prime minister called for an urgent cultural shift that would make using a phone on the road a taboo, like drink-driving, saying that “a moment’s distraction can wreck the lives of others forever”.
The government was planning to toughen up penalties, she said.
“Ultimately, though, we need to work with the public to raise awareness of the dangers of using a mobile phone when driving. Just as we have made it socially unacceptable to drink and drive, so we need to do the same with using a mobile phone while driving.
“We need people to realise the tragedy they can inflict in a fleeting moment and stop people using a mobile when their eyes and mind should be on the road and their hands on the wheel.”
May talked about the “devastating” consequences of using a mobile while driving, during a trade mission to India aimed at boosting economic ties.
The comments followed calls for action after a woman and three children were killed when a lorry driver ploughed into them while scrolling through music on his mobile phone.
Tomasz Kroker, 30, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for killing Tracy Houghton, 45, her sons, Ethan, 13, and Josh, 11, and her stepdaughter, Aimee Goldsmith, also 11.
Dozens of others have been injured or killed as a result of accidents caused by drivers distracted by devices.
May said it was right to have the toughest penalties. “The sentence should fit the crime for those who kill or seriously injure on our roads and it should deter other drivers from causing needless harm just for the sake of taking a call or sending a text.”
The prime minister said the government was consulting relevant parties on how to use penalties to improve the deterrence of phone use while driving.
Under rules expected to come in next year, drivers will get six points on their licence and face a £200 fine if they are caught using handheld mobile phones. Newly qualified drivers could be made to retake their test the first time they are caught.
The rules will apply to England, Scotland and Wales, and could result in more experienced drivers going to court if they offend twice, and facing fines of up to £1,000 and a driving ban of at least six months.
