Skip to main content

Nearly 10,000 distracted drivers caught twice in last four years

Data received by the BBC following a Freedom of Information request to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) reveals that almost 10,000 drivers have been caught twice for being distracted while driving, including using a mobile phone, in the last four years. The data refers to the number of drivers who have received CU80 endorsements in the past four years, which is how long the DVLA keeps its records. CU80 endorsements, which carry a three point penalty, cover a breach of requirements regarding
November 4, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Data received by the BBC following a Freedom of Information request to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) reveals that almost 10,000 drivers have been caught twice for being distracted while driving, including using a mobile phone, in the last four years.

The data refers to the number of drivers who have received CU80 endorsements in the past four years, which is how long the DVLA keeps its records. CU80 endorsements, which carry a three point penalty, cover a breach of requirements regarding control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile telephone.

From 2012 to 2015, 228,301 drivers received one CU80 endorsement and 9,722 drivers were endorsed twice. The figures also show that more than 600 people were caught three times and one driver five times.

The findings come as a foreign truck driver, Tomasz Kroker, was jailed for ten years for causing a fatal crash on the A34 in Berkshire while using a mobile phone.

The UK government has promised stricter penalties for distracted driving and September announced it was looking at plans to double the penalty to six points from the current three.

Related Content

  • Urgent action needed as drink-drive figures stall, says Brake
    August 5, 2016
    UK road safety charity Brake is calling on the government to take urgent action after figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT) show little change in the number of people killed because of drink-driving. Government figures reveal that the number of deaths involving a driver under the influence of alcohol was 240 in 2014. That figure has been consistently been reported since 2010 and looks set to continue if the provisional estimate for the 2015 figures proves to be accurate (200-290 killed).
  • New data shows average speed enforcement halves A9’s casualty rates
    January 26, 2016
    New data published by transport Scotland indicates that accident and casualty rates on the A9 have fallen dramatically in the first year of operation of the new average speed cameras. From the beginning of November 2014 to October 2015, two fewer people have been killed and 16 fewer people have been seriously injured between Dunblane and Inverness, while the number of ‘fatal and serious accidents’ between the two towns is down by almost 59 per cent, with ‘fatal and serious casualties’ down by approximat
  • Distracted driving remains serious concern in US, says NHTSA
    April 9, 2024
    US road deaths dropped slightly last year - but VRU deaths are increasing, says new data
  • Flashing LEDs may cut ‘distracted walking’ risk
    March 24, 2020
    Flashing LED lights embedded into pavements could improve the safety of pedestrians distracted by their phones, says Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT).