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I WAS staggered, pleased and then a bit disappointed when I read how eight drivers were stopped and punished earlier this week for using mobile telephones at the wheel of their vehicles.

Staggered - because I cannot believe that so many people are still blatantly flouting the law in this way, despite all the warnings and the obvious dangers. Of course, it's no surprise people are still doing this, but what shocked me is that so many were caught in one fell swoop during a morning of checks in High Wycombe town centre.

Pleased - because it is heartening to see the police are actively doing something to crack down on this menace. This is different from a driver going a couple of miles over the speed limit. Anyone using their phone while driving is a reckless road hazard, and anything the police can do to stop this will surely help prevent future tragedies.

Disappointed - because of the limp penalties imposed upon the offenders, who included a lorry driver. A £60 fine and three points on your licence is equivalent to what you'd get for going 33mph on the London Road next to The Rye. And worse still, errant drivers were allowed the get-out of a £74 course which would cancel their ticket.

Now, I don't blame the police for this. It's the lawmakers who haven't moved with the times. Fair enough they've made phoning and driving illegal, but they are just not treating it with the seriousness it deserves.

Let's be honest, any of us can make an error and momentarily stray five miles over the limit without realising it. But you can hardly say that pulling out your mobile while trying to grip a steering wheel is a mistake, m'lud.

And the lack of proportionate penalty is probably the clue to why so many people continue to take a chance and risk our lives so recklessly.

1:43pm Friday 8th February 2008

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