Image via Flickr user JustaMonster

In February 2015, there are important changes made to the law governing usage of mobile devices while driving a vehicle in motion. It is an offence to hold and use your mobile devices while you are driving. First offenders will be fined up to $1,000 and/or jailed for up to six months. Repeat offenders face up to $2000 in fines and/or jailed up to 12 months.

Using of mobile device includes making voice or video calls, reading, sending, composing and retrieving text messages regardless of any platform on social media. The offence is committed when you hold the device in one or more hands while the vehicle is moving. Anyone caught holding any mobile device while driving can be found guilty of committing an offence. To be specific, mobile devices are any hand-held equipment which are designed or capable of being used for telecommunications. This means mobiles phones as well as tablets.

Even though the amended law does not specially mention wearable technology such as Samsung Gear and Apple iWatch etc, the use of such devices could be classified as inconsiderate driving, which is an offence that carries up to $1000 fine and a six month jail term.

Besides, please be prepared to have your mobile devices taken away by the police for investigation. It was mentioned that all road traffic cases involving injury or otherwise serious collisions such as multi-vehicle chain collisions or where public property such as traffic lights, lamps or road dividers are damaged, in order to ascertain whether there was a mobile device usage at the point of time of accident, the Traffic Police might have to confiscate for purpose of investigations the mobiles devices of every driver involved in the accident for forensic analysis by the Technological Forensics Investigation Branch of the CID.

This means that following a serious accident, regardless of whether you are the cause of the victim, your mobile device and the SIM card might be taken away from you for possibly months. If criminal proceedings that arise from the accident, the mobile device and SIM card would be retained as evidence until the eventual resolution of the case in court.

Tips which you may wish to take note: to avoid hassle in case your phone is being confiscated by the police for investigation. You may back up all your essential data and contacts on cloud services and for people who use mobile phones as a business tool, you may also consider multi-SIM plans offered by your service provider.

By Foo Cheow Ming

See Full Story at International Investigators Pte Ltd