I refer to the letter from Colin Bond headlined 'Confusing phone law' (South China Morning Post, September 3).
Regulation 42(1) (g) of the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations, Cap 374 requires that a driver shall not use hand-held mobile phones or similar telephone equipment if a vehicle being driven by him is in motion.
The context of the regulation is self-explanatory: 'vehicle . . . in motion' refers to a situation when the vehicle is moving.
Mr Bond described a case when a taxi driver stopped his car at a red traffic light and used his hand-held mobile phone. In this case, the answer to Mr Bond's question is 'No', the taxi driver was not breaking the law. Similarly, a driver using a hand-held mobile or similar equipment while sitting in his parked car with the air-conditioning on, is not violating the law.
A driver could be considered technically taking control of a vehicle when he starts to operate the vehicle, say, as soon as he puts the car key into the ignition.
TONIA LO
