UK motorists are growing in frustration at the failure of the police to catch mobile phone offenders, with recent conviction rates reaching their lowest levels in nine years. Just over half of drivers polled by the RAC thought that they were likely to get away with texting behind the wheel. Eighteen per cent of motorists thought that offenders would be caught, with the rest unsure. Recent Home Office figures show that during 2012 just 92,700 fixed penalty notices were issued in England and Wales to drivers for improper use of a handheld mobile phone, a figure 25 per cent lower than that in the previous year.Ê The record number of convictions came in 2006, when 166,800 notices were issued. RAC members consider the problem to be the lack of effective policing, with forces increasingly reliant on cameras. 60 per cent of those surveyed believe there to be insufficient numbers of police on the road. RAC director David Bizley said: Motorists are tired of constantly seeing other drivers breaking the law and getting away with it so it is hardly surprising that they want to see a greater police presence on our roads to enforce motoring legislation more effectively,Ó Traffic police numbers have decrease by 12 per cent in the last five years, according to data from road safety charity Brake.Ê The largest cuts came in Bedfordshire, where the decrease was measured at almost 44 per cent. Cameras were used in 84 per cent of speeding and traffic light offences during the year.Ê Speeding offences have more than halved since 2005, during which almost two million tickets were issued. The most prolific force in issuing tickets was the London Metropolitan force, who gave out a substantial 20,679 mobile phone offence tickets in 2012.Ê The next most efficient was the Greater Manchester force, who issued 6,038. Simon Williams, a spokesman for RAC, said: These figures from police forces imply that fewer motorists are using hand-held phones at the wheel which goes against our research which found three quarters (75%) of drivers regularly see other people doing this. "We worry the reason for the lower number of fixed penalty notices might be due to the reduction in traffic police numbers rather than more motorists sticking to the letter of law."
