Car insurance news
Fines aren't cheap for mobile phone using drivers
Motorists who have to subject themselves to an annual search for cheap car insurance should think twice before attempting to use their mobile phone when driving
Police across Wales have launched a two-week campaign to crackdown on drivers who use their mobile phone handsets to text and make calls while they are in control of a vehicle.
Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys, Ian Arundale said that the campaign intends to make texting and calling from behind the wheel as socially unacceptable as drink-driving. The four Welsh Police forces will be stepping up patrols until 5 October.
The campaign has been inspired by a short film created by Newport students which has become an internet sensation. The video illustrates the story a young car insurance holder who kills four other people in a collision as a result of using her mobile phone.
More than 7million people have viewed the video, named Cow, since it was posted online in 2009.
New guidelines issued in 2007 mean that drivers caught using their phones can be given three penalty points and a £60 fine. However, many motorists are still using their mobiles regardless.
Arundale stated that drivers who use their phones are four times more likely to be involved in a car accident. Officers will be enforcing a "zero tolerance" approach to the campaign.
He said, "It only takes a momentary lapse in concentration before you could become the cause of a serious collision or be involved in a fatal road traffic collision."
Motorists who obey the law and do not use mobile phones when driving reduce the risks of causing a car accident and improve their chances of finding cheap car insurance.