USING a hand-held mobile phone at the wheel of a car will become illegal later this year, but using a hands-free set is still allowed.

Ian Singleton looks at the background to yesterday's long-awaited decision by the Government and asks whether it goes far enough...

TEN years ago mobile phones were the size of house bricks, with tonne-weight battery packs adding to their impracticality.

Never mind using them at the wheel of a car, you would have needed the stamina of a Royal Marine Commando just to walk along the street and chat on them.

Today, three-quarters of people aged over 15 in Britain have a mobile, many of which are smaller than the palm of your hand.

But while people have kept up with the astonishing rate at which mobiles became an integral part of society, the law was left floundering back in 1993 -- until yesterday.

After years of campaigning, it was announced that the use of mobile phones while driving would be an offence punishable by a £1,000 fine and three penalty points from December 1.

This corrects an anomaly in the law which meant there was no specific offence for using a hand-held at the wheel, despite all the obvious dangers to other motorists and pedestrians.

Police could issue a charge of driving without due care and attention but this was difficult to prove and rarely used.

So growing numbers of motorists could be seen controlling their cars haphazardly with one hand, necks bent a odd angles to ensure they could hear the caller.

Darwen and Rossendale MP Janet Anderson became so fed up of this sight that she launched a campaign last year to get a bill through the House of Commons making it an offence.

She is delighted that her hard work has paid off.

Mrs Anderson said: "I don't think people fully appreciate how dangerous it is. I spoke to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and they said that they estimated 17 deaths have been caused by this, but they can't be certain because it is so hard to prove."

Dr Steve Morton, director of public health for Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley and chairman of the project board for the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety, believes the new laws do not go far enough.

He would like to see the use of hand-free kits at the wheel also made an offence.

Dr Morton said: "If a passenger in a car talks to the driver, they are aware of what is going on and may stop talking when they see something happening.

"Someone on a phone cannot see that. It impairs people's concentration and ability to react. There has been very little public education on the risks as mobile phones have become more popular."

But Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA Motoring Trust, said: "We are glad that the government is not introducing a ban on hands-free as it would be difficult to enforce without banning the sale of the kits and ordering their removal from cars.

"We are calling on the government to couple the move with a high-profile advertising campaign to educate motorists."

"But there also needs to be a clear definition of what driving is. If motorists are stuck in stationary traffic then we see no reason for not making a call to say that they may be late."

The RAC said the new law must, in order to work, "both have an impact upon the relatively small number of hard-core hand-held phone users who are wedded to their mobiles, and tackle the widespread perception that 'everyone else' is to blame for poor driving while using a hand-held phone".

RAC spokeswoman Rebecca Bell said: "A new law on its own is not enough. There must be a properly funded information campaign to get across the message that using a hand-held mobile behind the wheel is potentially lethal."

PS Stuart Isherwood, of the road policing unit at Accrington, said: "It is good news and we welcome it. Hopefully it will save lives.

"It will make it easier for us to crack down on it because the fear of penalty points will discourage them from doing it and educate them that it is wrong."