Mobile menace on our roads

EYES off the road . . . this driver can't tear himself away from his phone on Oldham Way

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OLDHAM'S motorists are continuing to flout the law by using mobile phones while driving ­- despite numerous campaigns and crackdowns against the deadly practice.

The Chronicle published a photograph of a woman who had tucked her mobile phone into her scarf in order to use it while at the wheel ­- prompting outrage from readers.

And when a Chronicle photographer spent just a few minutes at the side of Oldham Way he captured seven drivers using their mobiles while on the move, showing how warnings are going unheeded.

The Chronicle has previously run campaigns to prevent offenders putting lives at risk by using their phones while driving.

It's illegal to drive while using hand-held phones or similar devices and flouting the law can lead to three penalty points on your licence and a fine of £100.

Tougher new rules are being prepared to stamp out the mobile menace, with drivers getting six points on their licence and a £200 fine expected to come into force next year. Newly-qualified drivers could be made to retake their test the first time they are caught.

If a driver is seen not to be in control of a vehicle while using a hands-free phone they can still be prosecuted for that offence.

The dangers were highlighted when it emerged that a lorry driver using his mobile phone ploughed into a car while travelling at 50mph, killing a woman and three children.

Tomasz Kroker (30) was jailed for 10 years this week.

Detective Sergeant Stephen Pidgeon, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "Rarely is it possible to see such a clear example of the risks some drivers are willing to take with mobile phones and the danger that using them while driving can cause."

Government studies show that you are four times more likely to crash if you are using a mobile phone when driving, with reaction times up to 50 per cent slower. A study of 700,000 accidents found the distraction was worse than drinking alcohol.

The astonishing picture of the woman using her scarf to create a "hands free" mobile phone while driving was sent to the Chronicle by reader David Mowbray, who was driving on Broadway, Chadderton.

His passenger took the photograph after Mr Mowbray spotted someone driving erratically in front of him.

He said: "There was a car in front of me and it was swerving all over. My initial thoughts were that it was a drink driver.

"I pulled up at the side and noticed the phone was attached to her ear. She was all over the road. It was startling.

"It kept slipping down and she was pushing it back up. She wasn't in full control of the vehicle. I wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been driving erratically."