Drivers who use mobile phones and satnavs face TWO YEARS in jail

They can be charged with dangerous driving if prosecutors decide they were "dangerously distracted" by their mobile.

The same applies to those who fiddle with MP3 players, satnavs or other electronic devices or light a cigarette or put on makeup, while in charge of a moving car.

If convicted, they would also face a minimum two-year driving ban.

Previously, these offences were charged as careless driving, which incurs a fine and may not result in the driver losing their licence.

Under the tougher rules, such transgressions can be treated as seriously as speeding or running red lights - and could even lead to a life sentence if someone dies as a result of an accident.

Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald QC said: "This responds to public concern about the dangers of driving while using a mobile phone and this means that a charge of dangerous driving will now be the starting point for this offence, where there is clear evidence that danger has been caused by its use."

Prosecutors have been told they can bring manslaughter charges - which carry up to a life sentence - if a vehicle is deliberately used as a weapon, or if "the standard of driving falls so far below the required standard that there is a serious and obvious risk of death and the conduct of the defendant is so reprehensible as to amount to gross negligence".

Research suggests as many as half a million motorists a day use hand-held mobile phones while driving.

Talking or texting on a phone has been banned for four years but the penalty was only a £30 fine.

In February, the punishment was lifted to a £60 fine and three points on the licence.

But these rules encourage prosecutors to charge drivers with more serious offences.

Rob Gifford, executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Transport Safety, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's not every single driver using a mobile phone while driving who faces jail. It's those few whose behaviour leads them to have a crash when they are using a mobile at the same time.

"What people are being reminded is that driving is a complicated activity and it is better to concentrate on driving than talking."

Sheila Ranger, head of campaigns at the RAC, said: "This is for people who are doing the most outrageous acts on their phone.

"We still see terrible crashes where people have been texting, driving into the back of stationary queues because they haven't seen them."