Using a hand-held phone behind the wheel still costs UK drivers a £200 fixed penalty and six penalty points, and in January the government opened a consultation on whether those penalties should go further. For the two million or so drivers who pass their test each year, the arithmetic is cruel. Accumulate six points within two years of passing and the licence is revoked outright. One missed call, tapped on a hand-held screen at the lights, and a new driver is back at square one.
The detail catches people out. Since the amended rules came into force in March 2022, the offence covers almost any interaction with a phone you are holding. Scrolling, taking a photo, and even tapping a map count. The narrow exceptions are a genuine emergency call to 999 or 112, or a vehicle safely parked with the phone not being used to drive. Hands-free therefore stops being a preference and becomes a legal requirement. It does not necessarily mean buying a new car, though.
Reviewers at BestCarKit (https://bestcarkit.co.uk), a UK site that tests car accessories, point out that the cheapest compliant setups rarely involve the car at all. A Bluetooth FM transmitter, which streams calls and directions through the radio on a model without built-in connectivity, costs roughly the price of a tank of fuel. A vent or dashboard phone mount keeps a sat-nav visible without a hand on the device. A decent USB-C charger stops the manoeuvre that gets people into trouble most often, which is reaching for a dying phone mid-journey.
Police enforcement has not loosened while the consultation runs. Officers in several forces now run patrols aimed specifically at phone use, and dashcam footage from other drivers has become a routine source of prosecution evidence.
The consultation outcome is still pending, and proposals reportedly under review include heavier penalty points for repeat offenders. If that change lands, the margin for a slip will shrink again. Drivers would do well to sort their setup now, while the worst case of a mistake is six points rather than whatever follows them.
