Jeremy Clarkson today joins 2,000 other drivers spotted using a handheld mobile phone by members of the public.

Reports in the Daily Mirror today (Tuesday 11th March) claim Clarkson was photographed using a handheld mobile phone by a reader.

That’s just how 2,170 drivers have been caught and reported to road safety website BetterDrivingPlease.com, where anyone can report bad driving they see on the roads.

The website’s founder Andrew McGavin said dangerous drivers using mobiles aren’t rare, despite a change in the law last year.

He said: “We’ve got just under 10,000 reports of dangerous driving on BetterDrivingPlease.com, and about a fifth involve a driver using a handheld mobile phone.

“Clearly people don’t believe they will be caught and are willing to take the risk. And if they see celebrities like Jeremy Clarkson apparently breaking the law so readily, they are much more likely to follow his example.”

The star was said to be driving his vintage 1970s Mercedes-Benz along the M40 in Oxfordshire.

A passenger in a nearby car apparently spotted him using a handheld mobile and took a photo.

More than a year ago the law changed (27th February 2007), increasing the penalty for being caught driving while using a handheld mobile to £60 and three points.

Yet since then reports of drivers flouting the law received by BetterDrivingPlease.com have increased.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

• For any further information, quotes or interviews, a BetterDrivingPlease.com spokesman is available. Please email press@publicityheaven.com or call Paul Green on 08452 303049
• To find specific reports of bad driving, go to www.BetterDrivingPlease.com and enter the area in the Keyword search box
• You are welcome to publish any information you find on the website
• A factfile, logo, screenshots and other press resources are available online at http://www.betterdrivingplease.com/press.asp