A SNAP survey by the Evening Press today reveals that a year on from the ban on driving while using a mobile phone, motorists in York are still routinely flouting the law.

In just ten minutes, an Evening Press reporter spotted five drivers trying to negotiate a blind bend at Low Ousegate with a mobile clamped to their ear. Since last December, North Yorkshire Police have issued nearly 600 penalty tickets.

Clearly the message is not getting home. Chatting on your mobile while driving isn't clever. It isn't cool. It doesn't demonstrate what a great driver you are, able to stay in control with half your mind where lesser drivers need all their attention. It is just dangerous and irresponsible.

It is not just that you only have one hand on the wheel. It is the fact that your attention is elsewhere. It only needs a split second of distraction to miss a child darting out from behind a parked car, or a cycle coming out of a side road.

There have been fatalities elsewhere. Road safety groups estimate 23 people have died in accidents on Britain's roads where mobiles were to blame. Sooner or later, if this dangerous behaviour does not stop, there will be such a tragedy here.

The Government has upped the ante in its war on the mobile menaces. The new Road Safety Bill sees the penalty for flouting the law raised from £30 to £60, with three penalty points. This is welcome. But does it go far enough? A case could surely be made for treating driving while chatting on your mobile as careless driving, with all the penalties that brings. That may be the only way of persuading the mobile menaces to switch off.

Updated: 10:50 Friday, December 03, 2004