Tougher action for phone users
* More drivers using their phones
* Offenders four times more likely to crash
Drivers who use their mobile phone while driving would face tougher penalties under new Government plans.
Increasing the penalty from three to four points for drivers caught on the phone is one of the measures being considered by the Department for Transport (DfT).
Four penalty points for each offence would mean that drivers would face a ban if they were caught three times rather than the four convictions required at present.
A spokesman for the DfT said: 'We're reviewing our road safety strategy. We want to do more to discourage people from using their phones when they're driving.'
Four times more likely to crash
The move towards tougher penalties comes in the wake of official research that revealed a significant increase in drivers using their mobile phones while behind the wheel.
The research, by the UK's Transport Research Laboratory, also showed that drivers who are on the phone are four times more likely to crash than law-abiding motorists.
