Call for harsher sentences for texting deaths

Drivers who cause death by use of their mobile phones can face up to 14 years in jail in the uK, writes Brian Byrne. But in general, sentences have been up to four and a half years.

That's the conclusion of an analysis of recent court cases involving fatal crashes where dangerous driving related to smartphone use.

The survey was carried out by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), who are calling for tougher sentences where death is involved related to texting or other use of phones.

In eleven recent prosecutions, six incidents involved vehicles running into the back of a stationary or slow moving queue of traffic or a broken down vehicle; three incidents were where vehicles drifted across the road and hit another vehicle head-on; and two incidents led to the death of a pedestrian. In all cases, the driver had been distracted while using a mobile phone.