AN INCREASING number of insurance companies are refusing to insure drivers who have been caught using a mobile phone at the wheel.

According to an AA survey of eight major insurers, half of them would not quote anyone who has been given three points for the CU80 offence, while the other half would raise their premium by 20%.

Spokesman Ian Crowder said: ‘Insurers are taking mobile phone offences very seriously. Their opinion is a motorist might break a 30mph speed limit without noticing but no one sends a text message, email or makes a phone call behind the wheel by accident.

‘It might seem severe but when operating a mobile phone you don’t have both hands on the steering wheel, you aren’t looking fully at the road and can’t change gears safely.’

More than 170,000 motorists a year in England and Wales are caught using their phones while driving.

Visordown Editor, Ben Cope said: "As bikers we've almost all experienced dangerous driving from people trying to text and drive. This move towards penalising careless texting drivers is a step in the right direction to keep drivers focused on what's really important when you're behind the wheel; driving."

