Cyclists face €95 fine for using their phone while cycling

Cyclists caught using their mobile phone without a hands-free kit face a fine of €95 from July 1, the Parool said on Thursday, quoting sources in The Hague.

The ban on using a mobile phone while cycling is due to be discussed at Friday’s cabinet meeting and ministers are expected to vote in favour of the fine, the paper said.

The size of the fine is in line with other penalties for cyclists, which include €100 for cycling while drunk and €95 for cycling through a red light. Motorists face a €240 fine for using their phone while driving.

Transport minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen published draft legislation in September making it an offence ‘to hold a mobile electronic devices while driving all vehicles [so including bikes]’.

The words ‘mobile electronic device’ rather than mobile phone were deliberately chosen to take developments in the future into account.

Nearly half of cyclists are said to use their phones while cycling, and phones are said to have played a role in 20% of bike accidents involving the under-25s, the transport ministry said last year.