■Is it OK if I don't hold it in my hand?
● What kind of conditions are violations? It's a road traffic law that everyone knows and takes for granted.
Specifically, in Article 71, Paragraph 5-5 of the Road Traffic Law, "When driving a car or a motorized bicycle, except when the car is stopped, , do not use a car phone device or other radio communication device for talking, or stare at the image displayed on the image display device installed in the car or brought in.”
"Cellular telephone equipment, car telephone equipment and other wireless communication equipment" is supplemented with "things that cannot transmit or receive unless they are held in whole or in part by hand." is said to refer to
Therefore, you can see that Article 71 prohibits two things: ``holding a smartphone in your hand'' and ``looking at the screen''.
The person in charge of the Traffic Safety Division in the Tokyo metropolitan area explained, "Even if you are using a smartphone stand, if you are driving while looking at the screen, it may be a violation because it corresponds to" gaze "." This suggests that just because you don't have it in your hand doesn't mean you can use it.
Of course, not only smartphones, but also tablets, computers, and other devices, it is necessary to carefully check the safety of the surroundings while driving and concentrate on operating the car.
In particular, prohibiting the operation of smartphones while driving is an illegal act that the National Police Agency and local governments frequently call attention to.
According to the "Changes in the number of traffic accidents related to mobile phone use" published by the National Police Agency, there were 2605 cases in 2016, 2832 cases in 2017, 2790 cases in 2018, and 2790 cases in 2019. 2,645 cases, and 1,283 cases in 2020 due to watching or using mobile phones.
●Is the impact of corona related?
The number of accidents seems to be decreasing sharply in 2020, but it is thought that this is related to the movement to refrain from going out due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
Also, in the five years from 2016 to 2020, the number one cause of accidents was "gazing", and every year, more than half of the accidents related to the use of mobile phones, etc. is occupied by
Some people may stare at the screen lightheartedly, saying, "If only I didn't have it in my hand..." or "I just want to watch a little video." Be sure to understand the dangers of , and never do it.
On the other hand, there are functions such as "voice input" and "hands-free" that allow you to operate your smartphone without touching it or paying attention to the screen. can be mentioned.
Then, if it is voice input, isn't it illegal to operate a smartphone?
Actually, there is no provision in the Road Traffic Act that makes voice input illegal. Article 71 mentioned above prohibits "holding" and "watching", but voice input does not touch this.
However, if you use earphones, etc. when inputting voice, depending on the case, it may be a violation of the "Detailed Regulations for Enforcement of the Road Traffic Law" established for each region.
For example, in the detailed enforcement regulations that set forth the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's own traffic rules, Article 8 states, "Listen to the car radio, etc. at a high pitch, or listen to the radio using earphones, etc. Do not drive a vehicle in a state where you cannot hear sounds or voices."
In this way, being unable to hear surrounding sounds can be dangerous when driving, so it is best not to wear earphones when using voice input.
Furthermore, regardless of the use of "holding", "gazing", or using earphones, if the usage of the smartphone is considered to be dangerous to driving, Article 71 of the Road Traffic Act "Safe driving It may also constitute a breach of duty.
If it is considered a violation of the safe driving obligation, a fine of 12,000 yen for large vehicles and 9,000 yen for ordinary vehicles will be imposed, and 2 points will be added as violation points.
For safe driving, park your car in a nearby parking lot before operating your smartphone.
(Yuki Umemura)
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