International cell phone law roundup

English road safety group Brake is pushing for an expansion of the country’s ban on drivers’ use of handheld cell phones, with hands-free mobiles outlawed as well. “It’s time that our politicians took note and put an end to the ridiculous situation where using a hand-held mobile is banned, but using hands-free isn’t,” said Ellen Booth, campaigns officer.

The U.K. Home Office reports that in 2009, about 116,000 tickets were handed out for mobile phone use while driving. The number is off 30% from two years ago, the Telegraph reported May 5, 2010. Meanwhile, cell phone use by motorists was up 27%. A spokesman for Brake, the road safety group, said: “This is clearly a law which is being flouted and isn’t being enforced to a degree that actually makes people think that they are going to get caught.”

New Zealand’s ban on text messaging and using handheld cell phones while driving went into effect Nov. 1, 2009. Police report high compliance with the New Zealand cell phone/texting ban early on. Use of cell phones with hands-free devices is permitted. Fines are $80 and include 20 demerit points.

“There are a lot of other distractions while driving but hand-held mobile phone use has grown to become a significant problem,” Transport Minister Steven Joyce said. The New Zealand Herald reported there 482 injury crashes and 25 fatal accidents in the country between 2003 and 2008. Update: The government has agreed to allow use of mobile phones as GPS devices while driving.

Trinidad and Tobago are cracking down on drivers’ use of cell phones — and the motorists won’t be able to watch movies either. Minister of Works and Transport Colm Imbert is seeking legislation to ban both activities. He said March 31, 2009, that the remaining issue with Trinidad’s cell phone law was whether to allow hands-free operation of cell phones. The law is expected to go into effect by October 2010. “Certainly, the current scenario, where drivers have a cell phone in one hand and the steering wheel in the other, should be a thing of the past before the end of the year,” Imbert said. Video viewing would be allowed for passengers in the back seat, according to the plan.

Police in Scotland wrote 180 tickets for driving and using wireless devices on Feb. 25, as a one-day national crackdown on distracted driving. Among those ticketed: A bus driver reading text messages while crossing through a city center.

Bermuda’s opposition party is calling for a ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving. The island has a twist on the usual distracted driving issues. Shadow Transport Minister Michael Fahy explains: “The phenomenon of the use of cell phones on bikes seems to be almost unique to Bermuda, where we constantly see people texting whilst driving their bikes, or a phone shoved in a helmet. It is only a matter of time before serious injury or death results from this poor driving habit.” Members of the ruling party seemed to agree, according to the Royal Gazette. Bermuda is a British territory located about 650 miles off North Carolina. The United Kingdom banned handheld cell phone use while driving in 2003.

Great Britain’s Labour party deputy leader was fined £350 after pleading guilty to backing her car into a parked vehicle while talking on a handheld cell phone. She also had 3 points charged against her license with the Jan. 9, 2010, sentence. The Crown Prosecution Service said Harriet Harman initially was charged with driving without “due care and attention” and using a handheld mobile telephone. The cell phone charge was dropped, which drew criticism from the road safety group Brake. She faced fines of over 5,000 pounds and nine points on her license for the South London crash.