UK government bans playing mobile phone games while driving

Any handheld use of a mobile phone while driving will become illegal, the government has announced.

Details published today by the Department of Transport specifically call out mobile phone games as an activity which will become illegal while driving.

Anyone caught by police behind the wheel with their mobile phone in hand will face a £200 fixed penalty notice and six points on their driving licence.

Currently, it is only illegal to text or call using a mobile phone while driving. But the law is being strengthened and the highway code will change to make it illegal to use a handheld mobile phone in virtually any circumstance.

You will no longer be able to take photos or videos, scroll through music playlists on your phone, or quickly catch a creature in Pokémon Go.

This includes while a car is stationary at a traffic light or in a traffic jam.

I don’t drive myself but have seen some terrible road etiquette from others who play Pokémon Go in cars around my local area – with various iPhones and iPads laid out across the dashboard. If you’re reading this, you know who you are.