Around one in 10 fines given to drivers for using phones cancelled
Around one in 10 fines issued to drivers in the West Midlands for using their phone at the wheel end up being cancelled, new data has revealed. Hundreds of motorists were caught using their phones on the region's roads over the last two years - but not all cases ended up with them being punished.
Data obtained from West Midlands Police[1] through the Freedom of Information Act showed the force recorded 1,010 offences of driving while using a phone in 2021 and 2022. But of that total, 129 were cancelled meaning the drivers escaped trouble and didn't have to pay fines or have points added to their licence.
There are a number of reasons why prosecutions could have ended up being cancelled. Some offences may have been challenged by motorists who felt they had been wrongly punished or officers may have had a lack of evidence to prove what happened.
Fines can also end up being ditched if police take too long to progress them. Many speeding fines often get cancelled for the same reasons.[3]
The figures showed how there was a huge rise in the number of drivers caught using their phone between 2021 and 2022 - up from 225 to 785, which was more than two every day on average.
A total of 34 ended up being cancelled in 2021 and 95 last year. During 2022, 221 offenders paid fines, 160 went on educational courses and 151 were prosecuted in another way, which could have included been taken to court.
It comes as cops have come under pressure to do more to catch the dangerous drivers who potentially put lives at risk. Earlier this month, we reported on a motorway 'vigilante'[4] who filmed a motorist casually scrolling through his phone while doing nearly 70mph near Junction 10 of the M6 at Walsall[5].
West Midlands Police have run a number of operations targeting people using phones at the wheel over recent years but officers can never have eyes everywhere. Phones have not just been used to make calls, read messages or use social media.
We recently revealed how drivers had been caught watching TV or films[6] on phones or tablets hooked up to their dash while hurtling along the motorway, putting lives in danger.
References
- ^ West Midlands Police (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Warning to drivers who will be fined for breaking these road rules as cameras to go up (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ cancelled for the same reasons. (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ motorway 'vigilante' (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Walsall (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ caught watching TV or films (www.birminghammail.co.uk)