Campaign launched to tackle mobile phone use while driving

Safer Roads Greater Manchester has launched the campaign, highlighting the dangers of distractions behind the wheel.

The campaign follows a trial of 'state-of-the-art' cameras last year, which caught 3,205 people using their phones while driving or not wearing seat belts.

Of these, 812 incidents of mobile phone usage were recorded over a 51-day period, with some drivers caught using their phones with passengers in the car.

Between 2014 and 2024, there were 1,174 incidents where 'driver distraction was a contributing factor', with 117 serious collisions and 17 resulting in fatalities.

Peter Boulton, TfGM’s highways network director, said: "Using mobile phones while driving is a key factor in a number of road traffic collisions in Greater Manchester which have resulted in people being killed or suffering life-changing injuries on our roads.

"These images unfortunately show that there are many drivers that seem comfortable putting their own lives, and the lives of their passengers and other road users, in harm’s way.

"If you use your phone while driving, you are four times more likely to be in a crash, so it’s not worth the risk."

It is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle on the roads in the UK and even a hands-free option can incur penalties if your driving is deemed to be dangerous.

Drivers can get six penalty points on their licence and a £200 fine if they use a hand-held phone when driving.

Superintendent Gareth Parkin, of GMP’s transport operations department, said: "Whilst our officers are out on patrol we see on far too many occasions the reckless actions drivers take when being distracted by their mobile phones.

"The road requires your full attention and any lapse in concentration, however quick, can lead to catastrophic consequences, not only for yourself and loved ones, but other members of the public who are going about their day unaware of what may happen to them."

Dame Sarah Storey (Image: Supplied)

Dame Sarah Storey, active travel commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: "I am regularly contacted by people who feel helpless to what they describe as the plague of people using a mobile phone behind the wheel of their vehicle.

"More and more people are observing the sheer number of people using their mobile phones whilst driving - and as the images in this campaign show, it's terrifying."