Drivers caught using cellphones to face NIS 10,000 fines, transportation minister says
Ministry, police, road safety authority drawing up list of most deadly traffic violations, said to include driving without a license, speeding, and going through a red light
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Transportation Minister Miri Regev said Monday that police will begin enforcing hefty fines of NIS 10,000 ($3,000) against drivers who use their phones on the road as part of an effort to whip drivers into line regarding road safety.
Speaking at a conference on transportation, energy, and infrastructure hosted by the Yedioth Ahronoth news group, the minister blamed a recent uptick in traffic accidents on the behavior of drivers. More than 400 people have been killed on Israeli roads this year.
The current fine for using a cellphone while driving is NIS 1,000 ($300) and eight penalty points.
According to Regev, law enforcement will be able to issue the steep fine without so much as a court hearing on the first offense. Drivers run the risk of having their cars impounded if caught using their phones a second time on the road.
“We will go so far as to confiscate the vehicle. If they [police] catch a person texting, they will immediately give him a NIS 10,000 fine the first time. He won’t go to court,” she said. “The second time, it will be the confiscation of the vehicle.”
Regev said she had consulted with her counterparts abroad and learned that two things that brought down accident numbers were “enforcement and punishment.”
She said the police, the Justice Ministry, and the National Road Safety Authority have been tasked with putting together a list of the seven traffic violations that cause the most accidents, along with recommendations for the punishments that should be imposed.
The seven violations are apparently driving while using a cellphone, crossing a solid white line dividing carriageways, going through a junction on a red light, speeding, drunk driving, driving without a license, and driving after a license has been suspended, Channel 13 reported.
The moves will require legislation that will be prepared by the Knesset Economics Committee, the report said.
Since the beginning of the year, 422 people have been killed on the country’s roads. Throughout all of last year, there were 395 deaths on the roads.
On Sunday, the Transportation Ministry, the police, the road safety authority, and the National Security Ministry launched a joint plan to fight road deaths and increase enforcement, the network reported. The NIS 50 million ($15.4 million) project, which will put an additional 234 traffic police patrol vehicles on the road, aims at reducing deaths by five percent.
The Times of Israel Community.