The police controlled the use of seat belts and mobile phones in traffic in a campaign on 18– 22 September 2023. The police consider it a concerning feature that more and more drivers are turning their attention to mobile phones when driving. In an intensive nationwide control of the use of seat belts and mobile phones, the police had to issue sanctions to almost 1,500 drivers.
- There is a major risk to the safety of all road users whenever the driver’s attention is distracted from the road ahead, Chief Superintendent Heikki Kallio points out.
Kallio considers the large number of people who use their mobile phone for other than talking to be a concern. Texting or other mobile phone activity while driving means the driver’s eyes are off the road. This prevents attention to the road ahead, posing a major risk to the driver’s own safety and that of other road users.
A total of 432 drivers received a traffic penalty fee for holding a mobile phone while driving and 247 drivers were sanctioned for texting or other similar use of a hand-held mobile phone. Besides these, the police intervened in 7 cases of the distractive or hazardous use of some other technical device.
Control campaign sought to increase the seat belt usage rate
Chief Superintendent Heikki Kallio at the National Police Board hopes that control and information will increase the seat belt usage rate to 100% because in the event of any collision, wearing a seat belt can be a matter of life or death.
The police had to issue 755 traffic penalty fees for failure to wear a seat belt. Besides these, fines were issued for failure to wear a seat belt or use a safety device in 57 cases since the offence was considered to be conducive to jeopardising the safety of another, for example a child or a passenger in the front seat.
Driving ban follows by repeated traffic penalty fees for use of a mobile phone
It’s also worth remembering that traffic penalty fees issued for the use of a mobile phone are considered as repeated violations. Under the Driving Licence Act, the holder of a right to drive must be banned from driving if they are guilty of certain violations (incl. using a mobile phone) or offences at least four times in two years or three times within a year while operating a motorised vehicle, which means they affect the right to drive.
