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€174 fine for driving with cell phone in hand or lap

Driver with smartphone to ear (c) Belga
11:25 03/03/2022

New rules regarding the use of mobile devices while driving entered into force on Thursday, including a €174 fine for driving with a cell phone in your hand or on your lap, rather than in a special holder.

Those who do not abide by the new rule risk the immediate fine plus administrative costs, De Standaard reports. 

In the event of a summons, the judge can impose fines ranging from €240 to €4,000, and the loss of the right to drive is also an option.

“Every year, 30 people are killed and 2,500 injured because of using a smartphone behind the wheel. This has to stop,” said mobility minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo).

The new law stipulates: “Except when the vehicle is stationary or parked, the driver may not use, hold or manipulate any mobile electronic device with a screen, unless it is attached to the vehicle in a designated holder.”

Connecting your smartphone to the car’s media system via Bluetooth or a USB cable is still allowed, because the operation then takes place via the car's screen instead of the phone’s. 

“As a driver you are no longer allowed to make phone calls while your smartphone is lying loose on your lap, on the centre console or on the passenger seat,” explained Werner De Dobbeleer of the Flemish Traffic Knowledge Foundation.

“The use of your smartphone for navigation or as a music player is also prohibited, unless the device is clipped into a holder.”

 

 

Written by Helen Lyons

Comments

cormier00

I don't agree with driving with a cell phone, because it can make a car accident. If you texting and driving, so you have no hands to drive a car. When you drive with a cell phone, so your concentration is not on the road. If I'm a driver and I see a driver who is texting and driving, It makes me nervous. I am reading best paper writing service reviews to find a writer who could further educate us the damages of using cell phone while driving in the form of an article. Everyone can get angry when they are in traffic jam. Some people might get more dangerous.

Apr 9, 2022 12:27