> Andrew Howard, the head of road safety at the AA, said last night that the figures were a welcome sign that the police were cracking down on careless driving.
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> "People are now being caught for using mobile phones and drivers need to be aware of that," he said.
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> "I think drivers would be pleased to hear this – it doesn't take much to show that when you have a phone in your hand you're at much greater risk of having an accident."
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> Robert Goodwill, the Tories' spokesman for roads, said: "This is a damning indictment of Labour's failure to clamp down on drivers who repeatedly flout the law.
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> "Labour's heavy reliance on speed cameras as a cash cow instead of actually properly policing the roads is being exposed."