BUS and lorry drivers will risk losing their licence as soon as they are caught using a mobile phone at the wheel as part of a new crackdown.
Their licence could be suspended for up to three months under a new system which will see them reported by police to the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland.
The commissioner, who licenses the operators of heavy goods vehicles and buses, has the po
wer to punish them on top of the £60 fine and three penalty points they would automatically receive.
Police chiefs today welcomed the move as another weapon in their battle to stop drivers using mobile phones.
But transport union leaders today condemned the measure as "unfair" for imposing a "double punishment" on the drivers of large vehicles.
A trucker who ploughed through roadworks near Edinburgh Airport while talking on his phone was one of the drivers caught in a crackdown in February.
The new system, which will be enforced across Scotland, is already in effect in England and Wales, where a number of professional drivers have been given suspensions of up to four weeks.
Lothian and Borders Police expects to begin using the new powers within two weeks.
Inspector Raymond Devlin, of the force's road policing branch, said: "Bus and lorry drivers have a great deal of responsibility for the safety of themselves and others. Using a mobile phone in such a vehicle should be considered an aggravation of the offence.
"The threat of losing their licence for a month is another way of getting our message across."
Neil Greig, head of policy in Scotland for the Institute of Advanced Motorists Motoring Trust, said: "This is a welcome move. Drivers in charge of large vehicles have the potential to cause huge and very destructive accidents.
"It also highlights the fact that we need employers to crack down as well. If they are losing a bus or lorry driver for a month, that could be very punitive."
But Tony Trench, Edinburgh regional officer for the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G), said he was concerned the powers were discriminatory. He added: "The majority of our members would be unperturbed by this because they abide by the law.
But we do feel that it's a bit unfair to punish lorry drivers twice."
Professional drivers reported by the police could face an appearance before the traffic commissioner for a special hearing. The punishments will be decided on a "case by case basis", while suspensions can last from as little as ten days up to three months.
A total of 19 vocational drivers elsewhere in Scotland have been hit with bans under the scheme.
Joan Aitken, Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, said the measures were proving a "highly effective deterrent".
She added: "Employers have indicated that the risk of an appearance before a traffic commissioner deters drivers from taking the risk.
"I regard the use of mobile phones whilst driving by professional drivers as extremely serious, not least because there have been instances where people have been killed as a result this kind of behaviour."
