THE police are to crack down harder on drivers who use their phones at the wheel.
They will be acting from this week as part of a joint campaign with the Department of Infrastructure’s road safety team’s new initiative ‘Smart Phone Idiot Driver’.
Mobile billboards will be placed on roads advertising the crackdown.
Police sergeant Allan Thompson of the roads policing unit said: ‘The constabulary will be proactively supporting this campaign with officers being briefed to pay particular attention to the act of mobile use while driving.
‘For the first time, an overt recording vehicle will be deployed around the island’s high volume traffic routes, with a view to identifying offenders and supporting the education side of this campaign.’
About 70 per cet of accidents are caused by driver error and a quarter of those are caused because the driver was distracted.
Motorists found using their phone when they’re driving can be fined £2,500 and receive four penalty points on their licence.
David Cretney MHK Minster for Infrastructure said: ‘There is no excuse for using a hand held mobile when driving, as there are many bluetooth devices on the market.’
Members of the public can download the poster images from the department’s website for displaying on their work place notice board.