Police crack down on people who use phones while driving as incidents spike by more than 50 per cent in New Territories
Nearly 2,400 tickets were issued for the crime in the first quarter of this year leading officials to declare traffic enforcement as a top priority
Police said on Wednesday they will remain vigilant against people who use their phones while driving after statistics revealed a 51 per cent increase in the crime in a New Territories district.
Speaking at a press briefing, superintendent Michael Yip Siu-ming of the New Territories South traffic division’s investigation and support unit, said police issued 2,370 tickets in the first quarter of the year to people using smartphones while driving. The figure for the same period last year was 1,565.
Talking on a phone or touching a smartphone is considered dangerous driving, although using the device for navigation is not.
“Using smartphones while driving is a traffic enforcement priority … our frontline officers will combat it very seriously,” Yip said.
Concern over the use of smartphones in commercial vehicles had risen in recent years, especially with taxi drivers who often have several electronic devices mounted to dashboards.
