Driver caught watching TV on their mobile while driving on the M6 at 40mph

A motorist was spotted catching up on TV while cruising down the M6 motorway at 40mph.

The driver had their mobile phone propped up on the dashboard close to the steering wheel – close to where a sat-nav system would be placed.

The unnamed 38-year-old driver was filmed by Central Motorway Police Group who pulled up alongside the vehicle and recorded them in the act move.

They were caught out between J15 for Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford services.

The motorist was given a £100 fine and a warning from police, before the video was published on Staffordshire Police's Twitter page.

In the footage, the motorist is seen driving along the inside lane of the motorway, trailing behind some lorries, in a 50mph stretch of road.


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Writing about the incident on social media, Staffordshire Police, said: "Not the greatest idea to catch up on the TV whilst behind the wheel.

"A 38-year-old from Stoke given a telling off and £100 fine after being spotted this afternoon. #Fatal4."

One Twitter user said it wasn't the first time they'd seen someone watching a TV programme while driving, noting they had seen a motorist with a tablet fixed to the dashboard a few weeks ago along the M6.

Another person urged police to take a tougher stance on the offence, by introducing a six month driving ban, six points on the license and a £1,000 fine.

Meanwhile, someone else said the car should be seized and the motorist should be banned from the road with immediate effect.


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Last year, a man almost ploughed into other motorists when his attention was on a TV screen in the car and he swerved across the lanes, where he narrowly missed another driver.

A car passenger, Emma Bazeley, filmed the Skoda driver travelling along the M1 after the dangerous motorist almost hit her partner Mat Orme's car.

When Mr Orme, 46, overtook the vehicle the couple were shocked to see the driver had mounted a phone onto the windscreen and was watching a show.

Speaking at the time, in April last year, Emma said: "We were driving back from London when we noticed this car in front which was all over the place.

"At one point he swerved over the line and nearly hit us. He was driving erratically, going right up to the speed limit and then slowing down. My partner started going past him and I said, “Oh my god, he’s watching TV”.

"I couldn’t believe he could be so stupid. He was completely engrossed by it. He didn’t even notice us until my partner beeped his horn."

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