Drivers caught using mobile phones during road safety operation in Maple Cross

Four people were caught using their mobile phones while driving, within 10 minutes of a road safety operation getting under way in Maple Cross yesterday (Wednesday, November 22). Officers from Three Rivers Intervention Team D were joined by colleagues from the Safer Neighbourhood Team and Road Policing Unit, as well as representatives from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, HMRC and Three Rivers District Council, for the operation on the A412 Denham Way. The event was held as part of Road Safety Week, which is coordinated annually by the road safety charity Brake. Sixteen drivers were issued with traffic offence reports (TORs) throughout the two-hour operation, 15 of which were for using a mobile phone while driving and one for driving without due care and attention after a woman stated she was trying to use her phone as a sat nav. One driver was dealt with twice after being spotted using a mobile phone for a second time by an unmarked car. The drivers now face a £200 fine and six points on their licence. Intervention Sergeant Stephen Bell said: “It is hugely frustrating that some drivers continue to flout the law and put lives at risk. If you use a mobile phone whilst driving you significantly increase your chances of being involved in a serious, even fatal collision. “I have no doubt that, had we run the operation longer, the number of people caught would have been higher. If you are found to be using a mobile phone while driving, you will be dealt with robustly.” Nearly 500 drivers have been caught in Hertfordshire for using a handheld mobile phone while at the wheel since the penalties doubled earlier this year. Between March 1 and September 30 2017, 493 motorists in the county were caught using a handheld mobile phone. Drivers caught twice face a lengthy ban, which could also lead to a £1,000 fine. New drivers – those who have passed within the last two years – face having their licence revoked if caught just once.