That’s right, thousands of fines have been issued since the ban on using or even holding your phone whilst cycling was introduced last July in the Netherlands. In the last six months of 2019, over 21.000 fines of 95 euros a pop were issued.
Between July and October, 9.200 cyclists were fined for cycling whilst using their phones / holding them. In the last three months of the year, however, the number of cyclists being fined for this offence went up to 12.000 due to increased police surveillance.
Using your phone whilst driving is also against the law. The number of fines issued for doing so increased last year from more than 80.000 to 100.000, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice and Security and the police. Whilst the fines for this particular offence increased, the overall number of traffic fines issued last year actually decreased. In 2018, 9,2 million fines were given out and last year only 8,3 were issued.
According to the Ministry, various reasons can be attributed to the decrease in the overall number of traffic fines issued. One of these could be the fact that it’s getting busier on the roads, making it harder to speed, drivers are also warned in advance as to where speed cameras and route monitors are. The reduction in the number of fines could also be due to the road works being carried out.