Mobile phone use in cars to be punished by two penalty points
From the new year, the use of handheld mobile phones in cars will be punished with two dots in the driver’s license. If necessary, the fine level and the number of dots can be adjusted.
Use of mobile phones while driving, especially use that involves texting and reading, is associated with high risks say the Norwegian government. The prohibition of this is only respected to a very low extent.
‘’As a measure to increase compliance, penalty points for illegal use of mobile phones while driving is to be introduced,’’ stated a press release about the regulatory change on Friday.
The new scheme will apply from the 1st of January, 2019. Violation of the mobile phone usage ban will result in two penalty points in the driver’s license or four points in the trial period. Today, breach of the ban is only punished by a penalty of 1,700 kroner.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications will monitor developments closely, and the number of penalty points could be adjusted if it proved necessary.
‘’Reading, texting, and fiddling with the mobile phone behind the wheel pose a great deal of danger and takes life in traffic. Now the government is tightening the rules, and we are in the right to do so,’’ said Helge Orten, committee chairman of the Transport and Communications Committee in parliament.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
