The zero tolerance campaign, led by Dyfed-Powys Police, came from a short film made by Newport Film School in which students highlighted the dangers of using a mobile phone whilst driving. The film, called ‘Cow’, was aired on Youtube and has been seen by more than 7 million viewers.

Apparently the lorry driver was unaware that he had the little Clio stuck to the front of his cab pushing it along the A1M at 60mph, with the driver still inside. The whole event was captured by a passenger in another car with a mobile phone. The Clio driver was unhurt after the lorry driver had realised what was happening and came to a stop. The haulier firm is conducting an investigation into the incident.

Overall the results show that use has increased since 2008, for car drivers up from 1.5% to 2.9% and for van and lorry drivers up from 3.3% to 5.0%. Hand-held phone use dropped off after it became illegal to use hand-held phones whilst driving in 2003 and the subsequent increase in fine in 2007, but steadily increased again afterwards. The figures are a result of surveys at 30 sites in the South East of England and are therefore not fully representative of the whole country. They surveys involve observers watching drivers and counting the number of times they see a motorist using either a hand-held or hands-free mobile device.

The only allowed use of a mobile phone whilst driving is when the device has hands free operation. If you are caught using a phone that does not have hands free, the offence fixed penalty is £60 and 3 penalty points. If it goes to court the fine can rise to as much as £1000. In cases where your driving was considered to be bad, you may even be prosecuted for careless or dangerous driving, which attract much higher penalties. If someone dies in an accident where it was found that someone was calling or texting whilst driving a prison sentence, up to 7 years for phoning or longer for texting, can be expected.

Two cyclists have come up with two laser beams attached to a bicycle that paint a virtual cycle lane around the cyclists, giving a visual indication to motorists of their whereabouts. The plan is to make cyclists more confident about using the roads at night rather than cycling on footpaths. The device is reckon to cost around £30 and can be recharged via a mobile phone charger.