The justice ministry is getting tougher on mobile phone use by drivers in the face of a rise in traffic deaths, Trouw reported on Friday.

In the new proposed legislation the definition of ‘reckless driving’ will be widened to include using Whatsapp and other social media sites while behind the wheel, a ministry spokesman told the paper.

Traffic safety organisation VVN is lobbying for smartphone use to carry the same punishment as drink driving which means a custodial sentence as well as a fine. The current fine is up to €320.

Figures

In the last four years the number of accidents on the main Dutch roads increased by 27% according to figures by the accident monitoring organisation SIMN.

While there is no hard proof mobile phone use is to blame, experts say that it is the leading cause in many cases. The infrastructure and environment ministry is researching the matter and its reports are expected in the next few months. The ministry suspects that of the ten million mobile phone users in the Netherlands, half use their phone on the road, Trouw said.

According to the VVN, a quarter of traffic accidents are down to mobile phone use.

‘The risk is greatest on roads with a lot of commuter traffic,’ VVN spokesperson José de Jong told Trouw. ‘Many people are tempted to quickly get their phones out to answer a work-related email, or to let their spouses know they are on their way.’

More traffic

Another reason for the rise may be the increase in traffic, Patrick Rugebrecht of the foundation for scientific research into traffic safety SWOV, told the Volkskrant. But, said Rugebrecht, there are enough reasons to assume that mobile phone use plays a role in the rise in accidents.

‘The problem is that it is difficult to prove. Drivers will not always admit to police they were driving at the time of the accident,’ he told the paper.

‘Drivers who cause accidents because they are on the phone should get the same treatment as drunk and reckless drivers. It’s a conscious choice which puts others in danger,’ Trouw quotes De Jong as saying. But most importantly, it has to become ‘not done’ to use the phone while driving, De Jong says.