LONDON (AFP) — Motorists caught driving dangerously while using a mobile phone, sat-nav or an MP3 player could be jailed for two years, under new guidelines issued on Thursday.
The Crown Prosecution Service guidelines follow mounting concerns that many drivers are still flouting the current ban and using their mobile phones.
Drivers will now be charged with dangerous driving -- which carries a two-year prison sentence -- instead of careless driving, which can only be dealt with by a fine.
The harsher measures could also see motorists who cause death on the roads facing manslaughter -- which carries a maximum life sentence.
New research has shown that the reaction time of motorists taking a call on their hands-free mobile phone was slower than those who are driving at the legal alcohol limit.
The Transport Research Laboratory in Berkshire discovered that mobile phone users were four times more likely to be in a collision.
The study showed that the risk of collision remained higher for up to 10 minutes after the phone call had ended -- indicating that motorists remain preoccupied with the conversation.
Nick Reed, who led the research, said: "I think a lot of people would consider that it's the action of holding a phone that causes the impairment when you're driving.
"But actually it's the content of the conversation that seems to be causing the impairment."
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