Why do proposed laws ban holding a phone while driving?: askST

Those who hold their mobile phones while driving may soon find themselves in trouble with the law.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) tabled the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill on July 7, introducing new traffic laws and tightening existing ones.

This is in response to Singapore’s roads becoming more dangerous, with traffic deaths hitting a 10-year high of 149 in 2025, compared with 141 in 2016. There were 142 deaths in 2024. The number of people injured on the roads also rose, from 9,342 in 2024 to 9,955 in 2025.

The ministry is looking to tackle this by clamping down on errant motorists, including those who engage in risky behaviour such as using their phones while driving.

Q: Isn’t this already an offence?

A: Currently, it is an offence to use a mobile communication device while driving.

This includes texting or calling while holding the device and driving, with offenders handed 12 demerit points and a $400 to $500 fine. Serious cases are prosecuted in court, with first-time offenders facing up to six months’ jail and a $1,000 fine. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year and fined $2,000. According to the Traffic Police (TP), there were 4,193 cellphone-related driving violations in 2025, up from 3,014 in 2024.

However, catching such offenders is challenging as existing laws require three elements for it to be deemed an offence.

They are:

• The driver must be holding the device,

• The vehicle must be moving, and

• The driver must be using the device.

This means that to catch an offender, the authorities must see the offence taking place and manually verify that the phone or tablet is being used while the vehicle is moving.

Q: What are the proposed changes?

A: The Bill will remove the need to prove the driver was using the device.

Instead, just holding it while driving will be illegal. MHA said holding a phone or tablet and driving, even if it is not being used, is dangerous, as it is less likely that the driver is focused on the road.

Drivers should instead be paying attention to the road and their surroundings with both hands on the steering wheel when the vehicle is moving. The proposed changes will also improve efficiency for TP, as it will allow them to catch offenders using cameras, or photos and videos submitted by the public.

There are no proposed changes to the penalties.

Drivers can still hold and use their devices when their vehicle is stationary.

Q: What about wearables like smartwatches?

A: The proposed changes will not impact the use of hands-free or mounted devices.

Drivers have legitimate reasons to mount and operate devices while driving, such as for navigation. Many cars also have built-in screens and in-vehicle entertainment systems with similar functions to mounted devices.

However, existing laws make it an offence to install such devices in a way that they pose a safety hazard or cause distraction.

If a driver uses a mounted device while driving and is found to be driving without due care or attention, they can be charged with careless or dangerous driving. This is even if they do not cause an accident.

Those convicted of careless driving can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $1,500, while those convicted of dangerous driving can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.

MP Dennis Tan (Hougang) had raised a parliamentary question in March asking about the impact of multiple mounted mobile devices or digital screens on driving performance.

Responding to this, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam said the key issue is not the installation or mounting of devices, but in the wrongful use of such devices while driving.

He said disallowing the mounting of devices could be counterproductive, as drivers may instead hold their devices in their hands while driving, posing a graver risk.

Shanmugam said then that there are no plans to review regulations relating to the use of mounted screens in moving vehicles.

As for wearables like smartwatches, current laws state that the offence of using a mobile communication device while driving does not apply if a wearable is worn in the manner intended by manufacturers.

This means drivers can still use and tap on a smart watch while driving if it is worn properly. But they run afoul of the law if they use it while holding it in their hand.

They can still be prosecuted if they use such devices and drive carelessly or dangerously.

Q: Why is using a phone while driving so dangerous?

A: Societal norms and pressures may be contributing to more dangerous roads.

IPS Social Lab adjunct principal research fellow and academic adviser Tan Ern Ser said mobile communication devices connect us to friends, family and work, demanding constant attention.

He said: “I believe the norm these days is the expectation that people are one phone call, chat or e-mail away, and should therefore be able to respond almost immediately.”

He added it is quite easy to become addicted to the phone, causing one to be distracted and instead rely on muscle memory when using the phone while driving.

But the situation on the roads is dynamic, and drivers are constantly having to make split-second decisions.

Associate consultant Andrew Lee from the National Neuroscience Institute said multiple areas of the brain are activated when driving, and are responsible for concentration, perception of the surroundings, motor control, and decision-making.

Using a phone or device while driving takes away attention from the roads, increasing reaction time to initiate braking and the chance of a collision.

He said: “Every screen that is on demands attention. These screens may show useful driving information, which may in turn help improve driving habits.

“However, these do not need to be looked at constantly whilst driving... Every second looking at these screens is a second not paying full attention to the road ahead, which will then potentially lead to road accidents.”

Jail, fine for those caught holding a phone while driving on S’pore roads under proposed law

After a new law is passed, those caught holding a smartphone while driving could get into trouble even if they were not using the phone.

That is because Singapore’s roads have become more dangerous, and the tightening of laws is in response to its roads becoming less safe, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

On July 7, MHA tabled the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill.

The proposed legislation also introduces new offences for purposeful endangerment and driving under the influence of drugs.

Between 2021 and 2025, traffic deaths increased by about 24 per cent, while traffic violations rose by about 38 per cent.

Traffic deaths hit a 10-year high of 149 in 2025, compared with 141 in 2016. There were 142 deaths in 2024. The number of people injured on the roads also rose, from 9,342 in 2024 to 9,955 in 2025.

MHA said: “To arrest this trend, we will be tightening enforcement and penalties for traffic offences.”

Laws now already make it an offence to text or call while holding a phone and driving. Those caught are usually handed 12 demerit points and a $400 to $500 fine.

In more serious cases, however, they can be prosecuted in court.

If convicted, first-time offenders can be jailed for up to six months and fined $1,000. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year and fined $2,000.

Such cases require proof that the device was being used, making the laws difficult to enforce. To catch offenders, the authorities have to see the offence taking place and verify that an offender was using a phone.

The Bill removes the need for this. Instead, just holding the phone while the vehicle is moving will be an offence, as it is dangerous and makes it less likely that the driver would be focused on the road, said MHA.

This will allow the Traffic Police (TP) to catch offenders by using cameras, or photos and videos sent in by the public.

The Bill, however, will not affect the use of mounted devices, and drivers can still hold their devices when the vehicle is stationary.

Another issue is how vehicles can become dangerous weapons when drivers use them to deliberately hurt others.

MHA said: “Where a driver deliberately endangers another person using a vehicle and causes death, he must face consequences that are proportionate to his culpability and harm.”

Such drivers cannot be convicted of murder or culpable homicide, unless it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that they intended to kill or knew that the act they carried out was likely to cause death.

At present, a first-time offender is likely to be charged instead with dangerous driving causing death and faces a maximum of eight years’ jail.

In the case of Jarrett Tee Lee Kiat, who showed no remorse after causing the death of an 18-year-old during an expressway race, he was sentenced to five years and eight months’ jail after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

MHA said there should be graver consequences for such conduct.

To address this, the Bill introduces a new offence: purposeful endangerment using a vehicle, causing death or grievous hurt.

Offenders can be jailed for up to 15 years, fined, caned and disqualified from driving for life, or for at least 10 years if there are special reasons.

The Bill also increases penalties for dangerous and careless driving that causes grievous hurt.

On Dec 5, 2025, Yoong Kok Kai had his jail term increased from 3½ years to five years for causing an accident, while drunk, that left an auxiliary police officer in a vegetative state.

Yoong began driving home after three consecutive drinking sessions, ended up at Tuas Checkpoint and lost control of his vehicle.

The High Court judge who imposed the higher sentence had said there was no excuse for those who choose to drink large amounts of alcohol, yet drive. The judge had wondered if the maximum sentences were fully adequate for the worst types of incidents, but said it was a matter for the legislature.

For dangerous driving causing grievous hurt, the Bill will see the maximum jail time raised from five to seven years for first-time offenders, and from 10 to 13 years for repeat offenders.

There are no proposed changes to the maximum jail terms for careless driving causing grievous hurt.

For both offences, additional penalties due to aggravating factors will be raised.

Serious offenders, such as those who commit offences while drink-driving, will face up to 18 months’ additional jail time, up from one year now.

Serious repeat offenders will face additional jail time of up to three years and six months, compared with the additional maximum of two years now.

The Bill also makes clear that where a disqualification order is made against an offender who is jailed, the disqualification period starts only after release from prison, even if the jail term is for an unrelated offence.

MHA said hundreds of thousands of traffic violations are processed by TP annually. Most are detected by cameras, and officers are legally required to review every photo or video.

The Bill will allow them to use an automated decision-making system and automatically issue notices to vehicle owners.

MHA said the system will be used only to process technical violations that can be verified from the evidence, such as speeding and red-light violations.

Vehicle owners who receive the notices will continue to be required to provide the identity and address of the driver who had committed the offence within 14 days.

MHA said the owners may apply for the notices to be revoked if the vehicle or the offence was wrongly identified by the system, and TP will manually review such appeals.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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