The government decided Friday to introduce tighter rules to crack down on smartphone use while driving, against a backdrop of a rising number of road accidents caused by inattentive drivers.
Starting Dec. 1, stricter penalties will be handed out, including higher fines, a roughly threefold increase in driving penalty points and lengthier prison sentences.
There were 2,790 accidents in 2018 linked to drivers distracted by smartphones, of which 42 were fatal, an increase by 2.3 times in 10 years.