Mobile phone driving offences bounce back to pre-pandemic levels

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today urged Police Scotland to get tough on drivers who use their mobile phones while driving as he revealed that the number of offences has already rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.

Freedom of information request submitted by Scottish Liberal Democrats to Police Scotland have revealed that in 2022 there were 2,655 offences recorded, almost exactly the same level recorded in the last pre-pandemic year 2019 and a significant increase on the number of offences recorded in 2020 and 2021.

Commenting on the figures Mr McArthur said:

"Mobile phones are ubiquitous nowadays but they are certainly not a safe thing to be using behind the wheel unless you have a properly set up hands free system.

"For obvious reasons the number of drivers being pulled over by the police for mobile phone offences dropped during the pandemic. These figures show, however, that the number of offences have bounced right back post-pandemic.

"In the interests of road safety, the Scottish Government must work with the police to ensure the public are properly informed of the risks of using a mobile while driving and that those acting carelessly face proper punishments.”