THE NUMBER of drivers fined and given penalty points for using a phone behind the wheel has topped three figures since the punishment increased.

Since March 2017, penalties for drivers using a mobile phone have doubled to a £200 fine and six penalty points.

In West Yorkshire, the number of drivers fined every month has surpassed 103, with 2,647 given a ticket since the changes were introduced.

The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, showed November 2017 saw the highest amount of drivers fined after police handed out 183 penalties.

The lowest amount of fines given out in a single month was September 2017 when 104 motorists were penalised for driving with a mobile.

Driving while using a mobile phone is widely condemned because of the devastation a distracted driver can cause if they look away from the road.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at Brake, said the use of a mobile phone while driving should attract the same level of condemnation as drink driving.

He said: "The numbers of drivers in West Yorkshire who still use their mobile phone when behind the wheel is deeply concerning.

"Mobile phone use distracts drivers from the road where even a split-second’s inattention can lead to devastation and is illegal for that very reason.

"It’s been proven that reaction times whilst texting are double those of drink-drivers and so mobile phone use behind the wheel should be seen as being as unacceptable as drink-driving.

"We urge drivers to put their phone in the glovebox, out of reach and urge the Government to make roads policing an investment priority, so that there is an active deterrent to illegal behaviour and drivers who break the law know that they will be caught and punished."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "For all people issued with a ticket for a mobile phone offence, a conditional offer is made of six points on the offenders driving licence plus a £200 fine. Where this is not accepted, the case will go to Court.

"West Yorkshire Police are supporting a national campaign led by the National Police Chiefs Council to raise awareness over mobile phone use while driving being one of the 'fatal four'; the name given to the four most common circumstances leading to death on the roads and also including speeding, not wearing a seat belt and drink/drug driving.

"Research has shown that driving while using a phone makes you four times more likely to be involved in a collision and studies by the Transport Research Laboratory suggest that using a hand-held mobile while driving can be more dangerous than drink-driving.