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Police: We will not seize phones
Date: 26 August 2014
The police will not seize mobile phones from drivers at the site of every road traffic accident according to the chief constable in charge of road policing, Suzette Davenport.
Davenport was forced to issue a statement after newspapers including the Daily Mail reported that police officers had been ordered to start seizing mobiles in every car crash in a bid to cut deaths by distracted drivers. This, decried the tabloid, could see drivers involved in even a "minor car park shunt" having their phone confiscated to determine whether or not distracted driving had been a factor.
Davenport said: "At no point have I issued guidance to seize mobile phones at the site of every road traffic collision.
"It has been standard practice to seize phones from drivers at the scenes of very serious collisions for some time as part of the information-gathering process, but it is not now, nor will it be, standard practice to seize phones from drivers after every collision."
Davenport added, however, that the police will continue to use information such as text or call logs if an officer suspects a distraction offence has taken place to help build evidence.
