Government says it will strengthen existing laws which prohibit texting or calling on handheld devices to make mobile phone use while behind the wheel an offence under virtually any circumstance.

Further activities to be banned under the new rules include scrolling through playlists and looking through the internet. Anyone caught using their handheld device while driving will face a £200 fixed penalty notice and six points on their licence.

Motorists will still be able to continue using a device ‘hands free’ while driving – such as a satellite navigation system – if it is secured in a cradle.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Too many deaths and injuries occur while mobile phones are being held. By making it easier to prosecute people illegally using their phone at the wheel, we are ensuring the law is brought into the 21st Century while further protecting all road users.”

Government says it will revise the Highway Code to explain the new measures and plans to be clearer about the fact that sitting stationary in traffic constitutes driving, emphasising that handheld mobile phone use at traffic lights or in motorway jams is illegal in most circumstances.

There will be an exemption to the new law for drivers making a contactless payment using their phone while stationary, such as at a road toll.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams welcomed the measures and said: “As our phones have become more sophisticated, the law has not kept pace and this has allowed some drivers who have been using their handheld phones for purposes other than communicating to exploit a loophole and avoid the maximum penalty.”

He added: “It is absolutely vital that the new law is vigorously enforced otherwise there is a risk that it won’t deliver the sort of behaviour change that will make our roads safer.”

Road safety charity Brake’s chief executive Mary Williams said: “Driver distraction can be deadly and using a handheld phone at the wheel is never worth the risk. This important road safety decision by Government is very welcome.”

Closing the legal loophole on mobile phone use was also welcomed as a “sensible” move by Simon Turner, campaign manager for National Highways’ Driving for Better Business programme which aims to help employers reduce work related road risk.

He added: “We try to raise awareness among employers of the risks in allowing anyone to handle a phone under any circumstances while driving,” including talking on hands free devices. “We recommend employers have a zero tolerance policy for phones where at all possible.”

In related news, the Road Safety Foundation says today that older drivers over 70 do not pose a significant risk to other road users, but that the chances of drivers over 80 being killed or seriously injured is as high as young people in their twenties.

It calls for a target to be set to reduce deaths and serious injuries for drivers over 70 by 50% by 2030, mandatory eyesight testing at the age of 70 and a programme of making T junctions safer.