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New proposals that would allow police to issue fixed penalty notices for careless driving could "trivialise the offence" and lead to higher car insurance premiums, according to AA Insurance.

Current fixed-penalty offences are more "black-and-white" than careless driving, such as breaking the speed limit, ignoring a stop sign or driving through a red light, the organisation claimed.

But there are different degrees of careless driving, explained Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, which means the penalty will always reflect the seriousness of the offence.

Currently, careless driving offences must be proven by a magistrate's court, but under the new proposals, it would become "a 'one size fits all' offence open to interpretation by the police officer [who witnessed it]," he said.

He explained: "Making careless driving a fixed penalty would not only reduce that deterrent effect, but reduce it to a similar status as other fixed penalties, leading to a sharp rise in the number of relatively small premium increases."

Reading a map, eating, drinking or using a mobile phone behind the wheel could all be considered to be careless driving.

18/08/2009 17:41