A police clampdown on drivers using mobile phones without a hands-free device has failed, reports today’s AD newspaper.

A spokesman from the public prosecution department told the paper that there have only been 19,600 extra fines issued for drivers not using hands-free phone devices out of a total of 110,000 since the campaign started last September. This is considerably less than expected, he said.
The campaign was launched following research that 30% of drivers do not use hands-free devices. Around 45 people die and 600 are seriously injured a year as a result of motorists using mobile phones without hands-free equipment, the paper said.