Road Safety Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 99:"Page 23, line 42, at end insert ““except in circumstances where a motor vehicle is stationary and the engine is switched off””" The noble Lord said: This is a common-sense amendment that I hope will appeal to all Members of the Committee. It makes clear that someone using a mobile phone in a stationary vehicle, with the engine switched off, would not be guilty of an offence. I am concerned that the present law, because of the wide definition of the expression ““driving”” in road traffic legislation, could mean that people who get stuck in long traffic jams, switch off their engines and communicate with others to inform them about a delay will, strictly speaking, be committing an offence. There was an important example recently when a senior social worker needed to get to a child support case. She was stuck in an accident for nearly an hour on the A12 and did not feel that she could use a mobile phone. That was a real problem for her because she was trying to support a child. The law is brought into disrepute if we allow offences to go on the statute book—which this one could have been if she had used a mobile phone—that everyone realises are absolute nonsense. The injustice is even greater when there is no power to mitigate the fixed penalties, as there is not for the proposed offence in question, which will result in a mandatory minimum three-point endorsement on a licence. I am sure that the Government did not intend to penalise motorists who are stuck in traffic jams or people who want to get somewhere to support other people. The way to ensure that they are not penalised is to amend the law and ensure that that is apparent in the statute. It is a simple point and I hope that the Government will accept my reasonable amendment. I beg to move.