A NEW ban which will see drivers fined £200 and given six points on their licence for touching their phone at the wheel "should include hands-free devices".

New rules set to come in across the country are lulling drivers into a "false sense of security", a road traffic lawyer has claimed.

Nick Freeman, also known as Mr Loophole, has criticised new rules on using phones at the wheel for not going far enough.

The Government is set to bring in a law that would see drivers penalised for even touching their phone while behind the wheel. 

READ MORE: Loophole over mobile phone use by drivers set to be closed

But Mr Freeman has warned that the ban will "dupe" drivers into thinking hands-free calls are a safe alternative.

He said: "Nothing could be further from the truth. Hands free calls are dangerously distracting.

"And the Government are misleading the public by allowing the continued use of hands free." 

“Research has found that the use of hands free and hand held mobile phones when driving presents the same level of distraction, a level of distraction which is equal to  being over the prescribed limit for drink driving.   

"As a result, you`re four times more likely to have an accident. So how can the Government justify saying handheld is illegal and hands free is lawful when they present the same risk? It is a monumental dereliction of Governmental duty and a black mark against road safety.” 

According to the law, if a driver has an accident when on a hands free call, this apparently legal use of your phone could potentially stop them being charged with potentially very serious offences 

Mr Freeman said: “As far as the police and the prosecuting authorities are concerned, it would be an aggravating feature, suggesting a level of distraction.

"So it would be exactly the same way as if the accident had happened when the driver was using a hand held phone. 

"There's no layer of protection. That's why there needs to be a ban for all use of mobiles when driving except for emergencies and a few limited sets of circumstances. " 

Mr Freeman said in updating the law, the Government were also`staggeringly short-sighted`in missing an opportunity to beef up punishments for illegal use of  phones when driving.

At present use of a hand-held mobile is penalised with six points on your drivers licence and a £200 fine. 

“Six points isn`t enough as it doesn`t touch the problem. There should be a 12 month  period of disqualification – putting it on a par with the minimum ban for drink driving.  There are no police on the streets. But with a 12 month ban, the punishment polices itself."

Mr Freeman added that although the majority of drivers using hands-free require to do so for work purposes, he believes it would be safer for people to pull over into service areas to conduct calls.

He added: “People rely on their phones – they use their cars as offices.  They can`t seem to manage without them. Yet they do on flights. An all-out ban would simply mean pulling over, say into a service area, if  the driver needs to make a call.”  

What the Government has said

Last week, The Department for Transport confirmed it is currently consulting on updating mobile phone law.  

But Ministers rejected calls to go further by banning the use of hands-free functions – meaning drivers will still be able to continue safely using devices “hands-free” while driving, such as a sat-nav secured in a cradle.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said: “Our roads are some of the safest in the world, but we want to make sure they’re safer still by bringing the law into the 21st century.

“That’s why we’re looking to strengthen the law to make using a hand-held phone while driving illegal in a wider range of circumstances.

“It’s distracting and dangerous, and for too long risky drivers have been able to escape punishment, but this update will mean those doing the wrong thing will face the full force of the law.”