When a new law is passed and you are caught holding a smartphone while driving, you could get in trouble even if you were not using it.
That is because Singapore’s roads have become more dangerous and the tightening of laws is in response to its roads becoming less safe, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
On July 7, MHA tabled the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill.
The proposed legislation also introduces new offences for purposeful endangerment and drug driving.
Between 2021 and 2025, traffic fatality rates increased by about 24 per cent while traffic violations rose by about 38 per cent.
Traffic deaths hit a 10-year high of 149 in 2025 compared with 141 in 2016. There were 142 deaths in 2024. The number of people injured on the roads also increased from 9,342 in 2024 to 9,955 in 2025.
MHA said: “To arrest this trend, we will be tightening enforcement and penalties for traffic offences.”
Current laws already make it an offence to text or call while holding a phone and driving. Those caught are usually handed 12 demerit points and a $400 to $500 fine.
In more serious cases, however, they can be prosecuted in court.
If convicted, first-time offenders can be jailed for up to six months and fined $1,000. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year and fined $2,000.
But this requires proof that the device was being used, making it difficult to enforce as the authorities have to see it happening and verify this manually in order to catch offenders.
The Bill removes the need for this. Instead, just holding the phone while the vehicle is moving will be an offence, as it is dangerous and less likely that the driver would be focused on the road, said MHA.
This will also allow the Traffic Police (TP) to catch offenders by using cameras, or photos and videos sent in by the public.
This, however, will not affect the use of mounted devices. Drivers can still hold their devices when the vehicle is stationary.
Another issue is how vehicles can become dangerous weapons when drivers use them to deliberately hurt others.
MHA said: “Where a driver deliberately endangers another person using a vehicle and causes death, he must face consequences that are proportionate to his culpability and harm.”
But such drivers cannot be convicted for murder or culpable homicide, unless it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that they intended to kill or knew that the act was likely to cause death.
The Straits Times
