The government is strengthening existing laws making it illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving under virtually any circumstance.
This move follows public consultation which found that 81% of people supported such a change.
The highway code will also be change making it clear that hand-held phone use is illegal even at traffic lights or in traffic jams while stationary.
Exceptions are to be allowed for calls to emergency services when it’s not possible or to pull over or stop safely and to use the phone to make payments for road tolls or at drive through restaurants where meals are served immediately.
The penalty for none compliance is a £200 fine and 6 points on the drivers licence.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:
Too many deaths and injuries occur while mobile phones are being held.
By making it easier to prosecute people illegally using their phone at the wheel, we are ensuring the law is brought into the 21st century while further protecting all road users.
While our roads remain among the safest in the world, we will continue working tirelessly to make them safer, including through our award-winning THINK! campaign, which challenges social norms among high-risk drivers.
In recent years there have been an ever increasing number of accidents involving drivers using mobile phones, many of which have involved HGV drivers.
Incidents where HGV drivers have been texting or calling using their hand held mobile, a practice already illegal or videoing, playing games, watching TV, saving messages, sat-nav and other activities on a hand held device (all to be outlawed in 2022) have been reported.
The new mobile phone law aims to stamp this out and will be followed buy increased police activity to ensure compliance.
Operators have been advised to update the information in their drivers handbook to avoid prosecution if their drivers are caught breaking the law and guidance is not up to date.
Any conviction or fixed penalty notice issued to the operator or employee must be notified to the traffic commissioner within 28 days of the event occurring.
One possible way of helping HGV drivers to proving their innocence is to fit an in cab camera and DVR system. This could also help to satisfy the commissioner that every effort has been made by the operator to ensure compliance with the new law.
