Rome – Life is hard for those found at the wheel with a mobile phone in hand: the driver who will be charged with this infringement will risk new heavy fines with even heavier consequences in the event of a repeat offense. These are the new rules included in the bill to reform the Highway Code, which has met with opposition from consumers.
Approved last week by the House, the provision – if it is not modified by the Senate – will be a harbinger of many innovations. Among these, in fact, the penalties provided for motorists who do not give up holding the cell phone to their ear with one hand, while with the other they hold the steering wheel, change gears and do who knows what else. Whoever is found driving with a mobile phone could therefore be hit by a fine ranging between 148 and 594 euros. Those who are accused of the same infringement a second time within 24 months risk the suspension of their driving license from 30 to 90 days.
“Excessive and unjustified measure” comments the Telefono Blu consumer association, which in applauding other provisions contained in the bill (such as the prohibition of carrying children on scooters), expresses its opposition to the harshness of the penalties provided for use of the mobile phone while driving. “The association, sure of popular support, disputes the modification of the CdS which would inflict the suspension of the license to those who drive with a cell phone to their ear and without a speakerphone”.
The provision, according to the association, provides for an excessive sanction “not because one does not have to be careful with the use of the cell phone and therefore there is the possible distraction, but because the penalty is completely disproportionate and there have already been many changes to the Highway Code which do not give the idea of prevention and protection of safety but rather the tightening of sanctions in order to obtain more money ”. Finally, Telefono Blu underlines the increase in the amount of sanctions imposed on families, in the face of the inadequacy of investments aimed at preventive activities and the safety of users and consumers.
