Phones, Sat Navs and Devices in the Cab: The Law for Drivers

The law on phones in vehicles tightened several years ago, and a lot of drivers still work on the old version. The current rule is simple and brutal: it is illegal to hold and use a phone, sat nav, tablet, or any device that can send or receive data, while driving or riding a motorcycle. For professional drivers, whose cab is full of devices, the detail matters.

What “hold and use” means

The ban is on using a device in your hand for any reason, whether online or offline. GOV.UK’s examples: you must not text, make calls, take photos or videos, or browse the web while holding the device. It does not matter that the app was already open, that you were “just checking” a notification, or that the device is in flight mode. Holding it and using it is enough.

And the law still applies when you are:

• stopped at traffic lights;
• queuing in traffic;
• supervising a learner driver;
• driving a vehicle that turns off its engine when you stop moving;
• holding a device that is offline.

“Stationary in traffic” is not “parked”, and drivers caught scrolling in a jam have no defence worth the name.

The exceptions

You can use a device held in your hand only if:

• you need to call 999 or 112 in an emergency and it is unsafe or impractical to stop;
• you are safely parked;
• you are making a contactless payment in a vehicle that is not moving, for example at a drive-through;
• you are using the device to park your vehicle remotely.

For working drivers, “safely parked” is the one to internalise: the delivery address lookup, the customer call, the pod app photo: do it parked, engine decisions made, handbrake on, properly out of the traffic flow.

Hands-free is legal, with conditions

Devices can be used hands-free as long as you do not hold them at any point during use. GOV.UK’s examples of hands-free access include a Bluetooth headset, voice command, a dashboard holder or mat, a windscreen mount, and a built-in sat nav. The device must not block your view of the road and traffic ahead.

Two cautions ride on that. First, “hands-free” means no holding at any time: propping the phone on your leg and touching it is not hands-free. Second, even lawful hands-free use can become prosecution evidence of distraction. You must stay in full control of your vehicle at all times, and police can stop you if they think distraction has taken your control, with prosecution to follow.

The penalties

• 6 penalty points and a £200 fine for holding and using a phone, sat nav, tablet or similar device while driving.
• Loss of your licence if you passed your test within the last 2 years, because new drivers are revoked at 6 points.
• 3 penalty points where you do not have a full view of the road and traffic ahead or proper control of the vehicle.
• At court: a possible driving ban and a maximum fine of £1,000, or £2,500 if you are driving a lorry or bus.

Read that last line again as a professional driver: the court fine ceiling for lorry and bus drivers is two and a half times the car driver’s. Six points is also half of a totting-up ban in one hit, and for a vocational driver it is the kind of conviction employers and insurers weigh heavily.

What this means in the cab

Professional drivers carry more screens than most: phone, sat nav, telematics unit, pod device, maybe a tablet for the job sheet. The law does not care which of them you were holding. The compliant working pattern looks like this:

• Mount the devices you need in sight, set up before departure, so navigation and job information run hands-free.
• Treat every device interaction, call, text, photo, app, as a parked-vehicle activity.
• Use voice control or a proper Bluetooth setup for calls that genuinely cannot wait.
• Never let a mounted device block your view of the road ahead.

What operators should do

• Write the rule plainly into the driver handbook and contracts: no holding or using any device while the vehicle is in traffic, parked-rule for everything else.
• Back it with kit: mounts, headsets, voice-enabled systems, and telematics configured so drivers are not expected to touch screens en route.
• Never call or message drivers when you know they are driving; office behaviour drives cab behaviour.
• Treat device offences seriously internally: 6 points, a possible ban and a £2,500 court fine ceiling for lorries is a business risk, not a private matter.

The rule takes one sentence. Living it takes a bit of setup and a lot of habit. Both are cheaper than the alternative.

Sources

• Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving (GOV.UK)
• Penalty points (endorsements) (GOV.UK)