Talking on the phone while at the wheel can now lead to suspension of driving licence

Maximum length of penalty is six months; police do not plan to step up monitoring

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In the view of many, it could not come soon enough: new legislation that came into force from Wednesday means that drivers who talk too much and too often on their mobile phones while driving could face the same sanctions as those who exceed the speed limits.
      According to the new Act on Driving Licences, valid from June 1st, a repeated offence of talking on a mobile phone while driving (without a hands-free kit) can now lead to temporary loss of one’s licence.
      Previously temporary driving bans have been issued for example for repeated speeding, but now one can have his or her driving licence hung up to dry if one is caught too many times behind the wheel holding a mobile handset to one’s ear instead of using a hands-free kit.
     
By law a traffic violation such as speeding or using a mobile handset while driving can result in a licence suspension if the violation is committed three times in a year or four times within a two-year period.
      The length of the suspension can vary between one and six months. According to Traffic Police spokesman Jussi Pohjonen, the authority that has issued the driving licence – in most cases the local police – can decide on the length of the ban on a case-by-case basis.
     
”Ultimately the issuer of the licence is the one to make the decision, and I am unable to start guessing what kind of practice will be adopted. As my personal opinion as a private citizen I can say that if the individual caught using a mobile phone while driving does not have a history of previous traffic violations, then surely there should be no reason to suspend his or her licence for more than a month”, Pohjonen says.
      According to Pohjonen, a longer suspension of one’s licence is normally issued if one already has previous driving bans or multiple traffic violations under his or her belt.
      In Pohjonen’s view the amendment is primarily an administrative matter, and the police have no plans to start monitoring for example the use of the hands-free kits more than they have hitherto.
      Ministry of Transport and Communications official Eija Maunu, who took part in the preparation of the bill, explains that originally the amendment also contained similar penalties for those neglecting the use of safety devices such as the seatbelt. These were later abandoned, however.
     
With the new law on driving licences, for example the moped licence requirements will also change.
      From the beginning of June, the compulsory moped licence training will contain six hours of theory and three hours of riding. The reform also applies to the so-called moped cars or micro cars.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Two hundred drivers collect fines for using mobile phones while behind the wheel (31.7.2007)

See also:
  Microcar salesmen worry about proposed moped licence reforms (18.6.2010)

Helsingin Sanomat