UK police on horseback have chased down a driver using his phone at the wheel amid a nationwide clampdown to reduce the number of people using a device while driving.
In a video from the AS Police Roads Policing (RPU) Twitter account, two officers on horses can be seen chasing down and stopping a driver using his phone at the wheel.
When the driver stopped on a road in East Reach, Taunton, one of the officers told him: "You know you shouldn't be using your phone."
He replied: "No, no music. I have problem", to which the officer said: "But you're driving and you're on the phone and I can see there's a phone call ongoing."
Officers from @ASPoliceHorses have been supporting #OpTelecom, our operation to clamp down on the risk posed by drivers who use their phone at the wheel. This driver was sighted & stopped on East Reach, #Taunton. Drivers face 6 points & £200 fine if caught using a phone.#FATAL5 pic.twitter.com/sW3YXWcaMU
— ASPolice Roads Policing (RPU) (@ASPRoadSafety) March 14, 2023
A spokesperson from Avon and Somerset Police in Bristol told the PA news agency: "The footage of the horses was filmed on 7 March.
"I am not sure if they were deliberately deployed for mobile phone enforcement, or happened to see this incident and responded accordingly."
Officers are involved in a mobile phone enforcement operation led by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) over the next three weeks, and across the UK drivers using their mobile phones or other similar devices while driving are being clamped down on.
The police reported that there have been more than 4,500 fatal or injury collisions on roads in Avon and Somerset since the beginning of 2021.
