More than 240 people have been caught driving whilst using a mobile phone across Suffolk and Norfolk, during a week-long enforcement campaign.
‘Operation Ringtone’ ran between Monday 22 January and Sunday 28 January, coinciding with a nationwide campaign led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Officers patrolled the roads with marked and unmarked cars and motorcycles, which were all fitted with cameras to obtain evidence to help secure successful prosecutions.
In total roads policing officers issued 243 Traffic Offence Reports to drivers using a mobile phone whilst driving.
Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, and Chair of Norfolk & Suffolk Criminal Justice Board Lorne Green, said; “Operation Ringtone has shown that an astounding number of people are selfish and, frankly, stupid enough to risk not only their own lives but also those of other road users.
“Operations like this are a shopfront for the enforcement activity carried out by our police all year round. Don’t be foolish enough to think that, just because Operation Ringtone has finished, you won’t be caught. Let the drivers facing the consequences of being caught during this week of action be a lesson to you – just don’t do it.”
Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, and Deputy Chair of Norfolk & Suffolk Criminal Justice Board, Tim Passmore, said: “Time and time again we see drivers using their phones on the move so I was fully behind the Constabulary’s Operation Ringtone campaign to increase enforcement on our county’s roads.
“Using a mobile phone at the wheel is reckless and costs lives. It absolutely horrifies me when I see drivers on their phones and sadly we see it all too often.”
He added: “I hope the publicity around these campaigns, the higher penalties that drivers face for using their mobile phone, and the fact that members of the public are submitting footage, will finally make those who continue to flaunt the law take note.”
Norfolk & Suffolk Criminal Justice Board 