Mobile phone driving: from fine to licence suspension, here are the new penalties for those who do not respect the rules

For repeat offenders, the legislator has also intervened. Repeat offenders are those who commit this violation at least twice within a two-year period. For these drivers, the penalties have been tightened. A fine ranging from EUR 350 to EUR 1,400 is thus envisaged. Previously, the ordinary sanction of EUR 165 to 650 applied. Also in this case, of course, there is the deduction of five points from the driving licence and the suspension of the driving licence. But from one month to three months, and thus also for repeat offenders, the licence must be immediately withdrawn and forwarded to the Prefect for the adoption of the suspension measure.

What happens if the use of a mobile phone while driving is identified as the cause of an accident involving another vehicle?

In general terms, when a traffic accident with personal injuries is caused due to the violation of a rule of the highway code, there is the suspension of the driving licence, which is adopted by the prefect and the duration varies according to the injuries that have been caused. With regard to the misuse of a mobile phone while driving in particular, I would like to draw attention to the new measure of suspension, which is score-related. The so-called short suspension of the driving licence. This is a measure that is applied directly by the police, without the need to go through the prefect to issue the decree. The duration of the short suspension is laid down by law and there is a period of seven days if the offender has a score on his licence of less than 20 points or a period of 15 days if the score is less than 10. Here, in these cases, if the offender who is using the phone incorrectly and driving causes a road accident, which can also be a road accident without injuries or simply drives off the road even without involving other people or other things, the duration of the short suspension doubles: so it goes from 7 to 14 days or from 15 to 30 days. I would also point out that the duration of the suspension is short and must be added to the duration of the ordinary suspension, which is ordered by the prefect.

Is it possible to challenge mobile phone use while driving remotely?

Unfortunately not. Among the many violations that have been included in the code, in addition to those already present that can be ascertained remotely, i.e. with remote sensing devices, the one concerning the misuse of a mobile phone while driving has not been included. Perhaps there was a technical difficulty in developing a device capable of ascertaining this type of violation. We hope that this will become possible in the future, because this is in any case very dangerous behaviour, which must therefore be combated by all means.

We therefore remind you to use your mobile phone in the car with great care and to respect the new rules. We remind you that the new rules enter into force on 14 December 2024.