Cellphones were number one cause of Israeli car accidents in 2017
Police say they have increased enforcement on phone-related offenses and are seeking tougher penalties
Illustrative: Medics and police at the scene of a car crash, July 2017 (Magen David Adom)
Cellphone use was the number one cause of car accidents in Israel in 2017, traffic police said Tuesday, in a review of annual data.
Police said 362 people were killed on Israeli roads throughout the year. The number of yearly fatalities has hovered between 300 and 400 in recent years.
Traffic Division head Doron Yedid said, “We believe cellphones — not just calls but general cellphone use… are the number one cause of accidents.”
He said police had increased enforcement on cellphone-related offenses by 54 percent in the past year in order to create deterrence.
“We also plan to request tougher punishments on cellphone offenses,” he said.
