Phone/Driving Law: 106 Tickets Issued
As of noon today [Jan.5] the Bermuda Police Service said they have issued 106 tickets to people for using a hand-held mobile phone or device while operating a vehicle.
The first offence will see the person receive a fine of up to $500, with the fine going up to $1,000 for a third offence. Magistrates also have discretion to order six month driving bans for first and second offences and up to 18 months for a third offense.
Between 7:15am and 9:15am this morning [Jan.5] police officers monitored traffic in Pembroke and ticketed 13 people under the new legislation, issued six tickets for seatbelt offences and one ticket for an unfastened helmet.
Yesterday officers ticketed a total of 23 motorists – 15 in the morning and eight in the afternoon for using hand-held devices whilst driving.
“To date, 106 motorists have been ticketed under the new legislation,” a police spokesperson said.
“The Bermuda Police Service would like to remind the motoring public that officers will continue to monitor the Island’s roads for any offences including the use of hand-held mobile phones or other hand-held devices whilst driving.”
106 X $500 = $53,000
You do the math.
Up to $500…. don’t think anyone will get that on the first offense at the moment….
I already know someone who got slapped with $500 on the first offense. This government is broke, so they gotta get the funds somehow!
LOL…they could spend 53,000 on an overseas ‘business’ trip ( wink wink on the business part)
And how much is it worth when some fool , so preoccupied with their damn cell phone comes over into my lane and kills me ?
For people too brain dead to realise the dangers and stupidity of hand held cell phone usage and driving … Keep the tickets coming.
On my ride into Hamilton and back this morning I could have issued another 9 tickets so there’s a lot of uninformed or very dumb people still out there.
That is utter BS. There are many more distracting things than a cell phone, like a baby crying in the back seat or children fighting, something interesting on the side of the road, another accident, and too many more to list. It all comes down to the fact that the laws already on the book aren’t enforced so why make more and make it look like you’re doing something. Ohh that’s right an election coming up!!
So we should make it illegal to have babies and “interesting things on the side of the road” illegal now!!!???
MAKE SENSE. Obviously they are trying to take away as many distractions as possible, but some can never be removed; but at least cell phones are one less road distraction.
@ Just me
Please post your license plate number so I can make sure to stay away from you . If you can’t see the danger/stupidity of using a hand held phone while driving and compare it to babies crying in a car to back up your argument you place no value on anyone elses safety and probably can’t drive worth a sh!t either .
you are an idiot please think about what you say before you say it.
thanks in advance
But but, 23 (yesterday) + 13 (today) equals 36, not 106! Need more clarity from the BPS please…
Also want to know SPECIFICALLY:
(a) Is it okay to use a blue-tooth headset to avoid getting a ticket, and
(b) Is is okay to use a hands-free device, why is this recommendation NOT being made by the Department of Transport, Road Safety Council or the BPS?
‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers only, from someone who knows FOR SURE, would be greatly appreciated, thanks! (Not the beat-around-the-bush answers previously given by the Superintendent, which basically leaves it up to the police officer that pulls you over to decide if hands-free is okay…)
From the press release if you care to read: “To date, 106 motorists have been ticketed under the new legislation,” a police spokesperson said.”
TO DATE……i.e. since the inception of the law which isn’t just yesterday and today.
I assume last couple of days have been to hgihlight the fact that before yesterday 70 (106 minus 23 minus 13) had been ticketed which is high given the short peiod the law has been in effect. So, have a publicity and high viz blitz of it and maybe folks will get the message….or not as is more likely to be the case; just the usual folks whining that there’s murders unsolved blah blah.
I was one of the lucky 106 ticketed this morning. I had my ipod zipped in my pocket with one ear bud in, apparently that is not legal. If bluetooth is leagal, how is what I did illegal?
You and me both.
How much was the fine for that? I didn’t know that was illegal too…..
neither did I. The officer said between $500-$1000
Just wait and deal with the matter once your drive is completed before you kill someone…bluetooth, handsfree or otherwise…my gosh people….
The legislation was implemented before January 4th, 2012…..so 106 – 36 = 70 not reported by the media before January 4th.
No it’s not up to the Officer who pulls you over – he can write you a ticket and charge you with the offence, to which it is your right to plead not guilty. Then it is up to the magistrate to decide whether your behaviour constitutes an offence under the regulations. As with any legislation, it will be the courts that provide the precedents and the interpretation of the words. If you feel you are not guilty of an offence, let the DPP argue why they think you are guilty. This is not a police state, and only the court can convict you of this and any offence. It is the rule of law that any person can challenge his accuser to prove his accusation, and defend himself in court.
I am under the impression that 106 people have been ticketed since the law has been enforced…including the 36 from the last two days.
I also believe that you are permitted to use hands-free/blue-tooth devices…as they allow you use your cell phone and other devices without having to actually hold them in your hands.
I would think that blue-tooth would be ok given that you can use them in the UK where they drive at much higher speeds…although knowing the government and the BPS they’ll try and get money off you however possible
im confused as to why people keep asking this.
The statements from the press conference clearly say the law is written for handheld devices, and headsets/handsfree are NOT written into the law… i dont see how much more simple it gets.
Then why did I get ticketed? mine was handsfree
$53000×12 month = $636,000
At this rate we can pay off the interest to our national debt…lol
I’m sure that I just knew that Government was in cahoots with the company that makes Blackberrys – turn the country into obsessive compulsive users and then bingo – BIG BUCKS!
Pardon the typo!
yes but they said nothing about headphones / listening to your ipod in one ear while riding your bike…if your ipod is in your pocket and you arn’t touching it its not a HAND HELD. The video says cell phones and texting..using your hands… the video for the new law even says ” this doesn’t include headphones” so why on earth are they ticketing people for that? That’s not right…you can’t ticket when you said headphones not included…
This is an moot point, and I am sure someone will argue this in court –MOTOR CAR (CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPMENT AND USE) Regulation 44 stipulates that no person shall drive a motor car on a road if he is using a hand-held electronic entertainment device that can produce music, and a device is to be treated as hand-held if it is, or needs to be, held in the hand at some point in order to operate it;
This has been worded to mean that you don’t need to be holding it in your hand at the time it is being used, so merely using it contravenes the law – BUT someone might argue that your ipod does not need to be held in your hand at all… I think that someone may well argue this in court – perhaps with a demonstration!
If an Ipod or such a device can be controlled along its headphone wire then to operate it without being hand held is totally possible. Even a simple volume control would fullfil the music on / music off function.
Oh if only the police were as diligent at catching real criminals we’d all be better off. How about catching the people that weave in between cars killing themselves and injuring others…that would be a real shocker…”Police catch 30 teenagers attempting to smash themselves into oncoming traffic…in other news…”
When I use to drive to school I use to do it. Do you ride a bike? Because I have yet to see a bike rider just ride behind traffic the entire way to their destination. I weren’t like most people and go speeding while an oncoming car is approaching but if there was a giant gap, hey why not overtake a few cars. It is the idiots that try speed up to on purpose that are dangerous like that man in the big truck that speeds close to the line on purpose, if he smashes someone one day he is going to surely regret it. If they get into a accident by their stupidity that is not your problem, if they got into the accident because you did something stupid like speeding up to close the gap knowing that there is nowhere for them to go when an oncoming car is coming, YOU ARE AN IDIOT.
Incase you did not know, it is not against the law to third lane, a police officer told me that himself, however if you are speeding whilst doing it, that is against the law. I have been in UK for over a year now and people third lane crazy out here. You people need to stop complaining. Unless someone takes your mirror off, listen to your radio and keep driving.
Student…..what are you talking about with 3rd laning in the UK?? I lived in the UK for 19 years. It doesn’t exist mate. Trust me. First of all, third laning is prevalent where there are a great quantity of two-wheeled vehicles on the road (a la Bermuda). Secondly, third laning in BDA is solely a by product of people trying to get through the traffic to get home or to work. Sure there are idiots on the roads who view it as a racecourse and ride very dangerously. Scooter/moped riders are few and far between in the UK so third laning IS NOT an issue in the UK too. Get your facts straight.
Ok so maybe in UK they call it something different like “lane splitting”. But it is the same thing so don’t try and come and correct me because I see it every day on my way to school. Maybe it does not happen in your areas but it sure does happen in mine and it is in fact LEGAL. So don’t tell me get my facts straight because I know what I see. And it is not an issue in the UK because UK people don’t complain so damn much. As much as I LOVE my island, people need to stop complaining so much. Nowhere is going to be perfect enough.
What are you studying? Hope to god it’s not English or you are surely wasting your money.
And what is your career? My professor? This is Bernews, not my next piece of coursework. And to shut your smart idiot behind up, I take Business & Finance and have a 86% in English. I know how to write appropriately when needed. On the other hand, thank you for wasting your time and taking note of my grammar errors
@Student: Your parents raised you “well” to be so disrespectful on the road and other writers. There isn’t any need for your foul language, especially if English is your first language and you have an 86% score….
I agree Student. this is bernews – not coursework… some people can be so petty on purpose……YAWN……..
BPS turn a blind eye to the third lane, mostly due to the demographic and the nationality of the persons committing the offense..don’t want to upset the apple cart…..
What do you mean by that.. The demographic of idiots who create a third lane includes, black, white and every other race, ages 16-99, every nationality on the planet, rich and poor and all classes inbetween… What apple cart??
Student … please don’t confuse your observations or opinions with what is actually ‘law’.
A bike rider who overtakes more than two cars at once is ‘third laneing’ in the eyes of local law .
@Student: Have you ever taken a driving exam in the UK? There is no such thing as a 3rd lane allowed in Europe.
The driving exams in Bermuda need to be re-examined. This thin little booklet is a joke. How can a Bermudian drive in Europe when they don’t know all signs and the law… They should be required to take the exam. You are the prime example and a threat to people on the road if you think you are not causing problems in a “3rd lane”.
The problem with that is it requires actual police work, while this only requires sitting on the side of the road and catching violators as they drive/ride across.
Wow! I want to know aas well can we use the headphones on our cellphones. Please does any one know?
http://bernews.com/2012/01/police-strictly-enforcing-new-rules/
at 1:25 the question is asked and he says headphones don’t count
perhaps I am a bit slow today…so does that mean that it is not against the law to have headphones on?
one would thinks so …however, i got a ticket as have many others for having headphones on while riding your bike…guess we wont know until someone tries to see what the court has to say about it
I will let you know on 2/7 after my court date
i agree with ‘hang up’, they deserve these tickets because its far from safe. i was almost struck by a young girl on her bike who chose to pull out her BB and send a message whiles riding. had i not stopped she would have struck me.
this is a huge wake up call for bermudians, especially the young ones that think they’re immortal on the road.
I myself do not use my phone when I ride and drive, however I do find it quite annoying that police continue to annoy motorists when they have harsher crimes to worry about. They have previously gave people tickets for tinted windows, stopped my car quite a few times for a damn customized license plate with BOLD numbers that you can understand way more than those ugly license plates with light blue writing saying crap like “GodBlsU”.
This law was an Ok law to enforce, but why are you all wasting time on motorists just trying to go work and back home? Seriously, BPS has police patrolling certain areas of the island and punks drug deal right in front of them and nothing happens, yet they want to send out teams to stop people by Ice Queen or Strawberry Hill to hold up traffic in rush hour to issue a damn ticket.
Seriously, worry about the more harsher crimes and leave the motorists alone. Perhaps BPS should grab some of these traffic cops and make them do work like reading over files, etc and figure out why certain gangsters are magically all of a sudden eligible for parole.
There are only TWO styles of license plates certified as legal by TCD .
The standard ‘font’ that the car leaves the dealership with and those hideous ‘Bermuda is another world’ pieces of junk that became the ‘new legal ‘ under EFB. If your plate isn’t one of them , it’s ILLEGAL !
It seems that the local police are either blind or don’t know the laws either.
Good point ‘student’!!!
500 bucks for listening to an ipod or using a cell phone but maybe 200 bucks for speeding! The fines are starting to become completely irrational. They really need to relook and clarify.
This is great news, we should be able to average out at about $70,000 per month in fines which goes a long way towards our monthly interest costs for our external debt.
Debt is good so, lets raise the Debt Ceiling and spend some more on some capital projects that will boost the economy…….great stuff.
Two more government contracts and I’m good to go!!!! Another 2 hotels in Costa Rica……..I have to love you people
“Happy New Year” I think you need to read the article again it say’s:
“Yesterday officers ticketed a total of 23 motorists – 15 in the morning and eight in the afternoon for using hand-held devices whilst driving.
“To date, 106 motorists have been ticketed under the new legislation,” a police spokesperson said.”
Comprehend the TO DATE part.
All you people complaining about the police, you do realise the police have different sections you have road cops, serious crime cops etc. If all the police dealt with was gang/gun crimes what would happen when you have a fendor bendor, or someone breaks into your house, someone molests your child, or any other matter that requires the police you’d all be bitching that the police weren’t there.
Get over the new law and put your damn phones down. I have no issues with the new law and it’s about time it came in effect. Hope whoever you people were bb’ing, texting or talking to were worth the $500.00.
well said
Has anyone seen the movie (now a few years old) with Will Smith entitled “7 Pounds”? If you haven’t, see it and then you will think twice about ever using any held-held device while driving…..
Utter stupidity!
After all those wrecks the police have been having, they need to find the money somehow to buy themselves new bikes and cars!
I don’t use Ipods etc, but considering the things more critical to safe driving, this whole clampdown shows how little the government, road safety council and BPS understand about road safety! Clueless as usual!
So in the meantime feel free to tailgate, overtake on blind corners, race through busy intersections, don’t indicate, cut corners.
As long as you’re not speeding, talking on your phone or listening to you Ipod you can relax knowing you’ll be accident free and overlooked by the watchful eye of the Bermuda Police Service!
de·vice/diˈvīs/ Noun: 1.A thing made or adapted for a particular task, esp. a mechanism or electronic instrument.
A steering wheel is a ‘thing made or adapted for a particular task’, and it is certainly hand-held! Does that mean use of a steering wheel while driving is illegal?
Congrats premier Cox you have $53.000 to put in the government account..
I agree that people should not be talking on the phone while driving but the gumment needs better lawyers writing these half baked laws. Listening to an ipod using ear buds or open phones is no more dangerous than listening to the car radio. A car radio is a electronic device which requires use of your hand to turn it on and off… An awful lot of people seem to call radio talk shows from their cars… Cops are often seen talking on cell phones while driving and even tho they’re exempt maybe that should change cos you know theyre talkin to their honeys not the cop shop and look at all the accidents theyve been having…
A possible $53,000.00 in a few days. Good going. now how about clamping down on all the other driving offences while they are at it?
A horn is not a greeting device. Sound systems should not be heard 25′? from the vehicle. Signal BEFORE slowing down & making a turn not DURING the manouvre. Cars are individual vehicles, not part of a train. Stop tailgating. There are so many things the BPS could also be doing to improve the driving standard.
WHY do we need to talk on the phone in the car or on bikes period? Bermuda is only so big it takes less than an hour to reach our destinations…why not wait?
LOL Headsets? Seriously? Rehab anyone?
And where does this law stand on an iPod that plugs into a car’s sound system???? All seems very vague to me!
I travel from Somerset to
Hamilton daily, yesterday alone I passed three bus stops with at least 2 cars at each, which had pulled over to make a call….
The bus drivers are not too pleasant on a good day, I see trouble ahead for sure!!!
Also this morning on Harbor Road a police officer on a bike traveling west was straining his neck and driving perilously close to the center line hoping to catch more cell phone offenders while they drove into the city. A dangerous feat in and of itself,but I suspect like everything else in Bermuda, next month this frenzy too shall pass.
what about the cops hand held radios they use in their cars?
Well by the comments the island is split on the new law some saying they are extremely happy and others not so happy.
Well my take on it is this……It appears that the detail that was left out has people up in arms on where or not it can or cant be used. SO why not have the BPS or a legal representative come on the news to clarify what can or can’t be used, that will settle the argument.
But personally i think it is all a money making excerise that now makes the ordinary man/woman a criminal. What next you won’t be albe to walk and talk on your phone or listen to your HANDHELD DEVICE.
Come on people lets get focused and start tackling the real problems facing the island that effect us all like the Economy and getting it back on track (maybe this law will help sorry), Tourism and stimulating the senses and making Bermuda a viable vacation destination once again, Crime and crime preventation on all levels, and that is just a start. As i along with many others heard in the Throne Speech as usual alot of talk and no materialization of the rhetoric that is spoken.
Thank you Bernews for allowing me to have my say.
lol actually, from what i remember (could be wrong), it is illegal in a few US cities to cross the road while talking or texting.
it is illegal in all US cities to cross the line no matter what you are doing
I am all for cracking down on this as drivers are brutal but if you are going to ticket people FIVE HUNDRED dollars for this, how about cracking down and writing $500 tickets from scooter drivers who overtake practically everyone, including at road curves and running stop signs constantly. Sounds like the government is using this new law to eat into the debt they created.
Oh I forgot to mention there’s gonna be more unpaid fines. Who the Hell is gonna pay $500 fine when people are out here struggling. You solve one problem you create another..
if they have the luxury of driving around while on their phone, and have the mentality to deliberately break this law knowing the penalty, then they are not really struggling.
That’s the point with making the fine so high. It is to deter people from doing it in the first place.
The police do not make the laws they just enforce them…have an issue with the law talk to your local MP. So many people complain that they never see the police on the roads…yet now here they are and still disgruntled people. So many find nothing to do but complain. The law is the law whether we agree with it or not. If you take issue with it then remember your feelings at the next election. But you won’t as it is always somehow the fault of those whose job it is to enforce the laws…not those making double the money who make them…
Unfortunately Erica it’s not so clear cut. A law such as the one being discussed is very much conflicting in its aims in regards to safety. It says talking on a cell phone is against the law, yet using a two way radio or wireless headset is not. It also allows police officers to continue to talk on a cell phone. So either chatting to non human device is deemed to be dangerous, or it is not, to make exceptions shows the hypocrisy of such a law. I would agree that texting, dialing numbers is unsafe and indeed conversation in a vehicle can be distracting, but rather than police individuals who drive without due care, a specific law is created that does nothing to ensure individuals drive in a safe manner.
When it comes to the LAW the police do have a choice in how they uphold the laws, they pick and choose every day. The speed limit in Bermuda is 35kph, yet they police rightly so do not enforce such a ridiculous limit. So YES they can choose to enforce a LAW or not. The approach to road safety by the BPS has always been flawed. The typical scenario a few persons are killed in the early morning returning from a night out. The immediate reaction is a public announcement a clampdown on “speeding” with large numbers of officers conducting speed checks in locations unrelated during the day. The usual effect is many drivers, many who perhaps do drive in a safe manner get ticketed and fined for exceeding a specified limit. Meanwhile every Monday morning like clockwork we see new walls knocked down, overtaking on blind corners, tailgating etc.
As far as people complaining to their MPs, that’s hardly going to change things. One thing that perhaps could change things would be for large numbers of persons to stand strong against such illogical policing. During these “clampdowns” there could be 100+ persons booked, with a dramatic surge in court appearances. If everyone pleaded not guilty it would certainly tie up the courts time. If people refused to pay the fines, I don’t believe there is space in casemates for an additional 100+ persons! Now with social networks the ability to organize mass protest doable.
It’s down to how much people are will to put up with living in a nanny state, where normal citizens are over policed, over fined while the real criminals get away with murder!
For once the PLP has come up with something that required very little thought & makes perfect sense.
The controversy around it is unbelievable. Put the phone down or pay $500. Your choice.
Right on Triangle Drifter and others, simple innit?!
Clarity is needed though as to what is an offence and what is permitted.
People you just need to be extra careful one guy is hiding in and the other come and gets you. My mate told me just how it goes.
OK, the lesson in all of this is that there is stuff that’s illegal that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it’s still illegal. Instead of whining incessantly about the prudence or fairness of these sorts of laws…why not obey them? Making laws to attempt to encourage more care and attention behind the wheel is a good thing. Just because we don’t like it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. I’m thinking that the enforcement of this law is great- it’s a chip in the wall of this entitlement culture that we have built over the years, where the rules apply to ‘other people’ but not me. Good for you, Police Service. Keep booking, keep fining. I can’t think of anything our community needs more than to have the smaller laws enforced so that the bigger ones ARE actually a big deal to break. Matter of fact- let’s see more citations and tickets for driving without due care, tinted windows, loud music, using profane language in public, spitting, walking around town without a shirt or shorts that are too short, public drunkenness, loitering, littering, etc.-
Our biggest problem is our collective general lawlessness. We all need to pull up our socks up, this is a GREAT start. I hope it keeps going. Yeah, it stinks to waste half a day in court, it stinks even more to have to pay a fine- but isn’t the whole point to discourage these behaviours???
Come on, my fellow Bermudians, and GROW UP. Be responsible, and obey the law. Tired of the whining, you don’t like it? Well, the Promised Land is just next door. Go to the US, they’ll let anyone in, so you can go there and do what you like.
Well Fed Up Its quite obvious that governments will love people like you who they can control and manipulate to do whatever the want you to do. Obviously if its a buck to be made they will make it law. Look how fast they passed the seat belt law. You are missing the point people are complaining about the motive in making such a law when there are other more stressing things that need to be addressed, IE: have they changed the do-care law after that poor girl was killed on the cross walk, what about overtaking in a dangerous manner, how about jay walking the list goes on. It is quite easy to stand on the road side and pull people over its called easy target and quick money. If you wanna go with statistics I have not seen any in Bermuda that suggests that there are road fatality’s on Bermudas roads do to cell phone use. Yes in U.S its a must because you have speeds up to 75mph. Come on Fed UP look at the big picture
Oh yeah. I find it’s soooo manipulative of our government to enforce safety on the roads…and you, dear idiot, have entirely missed my point. It’s in part BECAUSE the small laws are now meaningless that people are breaking the ‘big’ laws. It’s a proven fact that when the smaller, but also important laws are being rigourously enforced that you find a drop in more serious crime!!! I personally want a society where I don’t hear f-bombs dropped all over the place, where people are more respectful to one another, and where people drive more carefully. You really think it’s safe to drive with a cell phone???? God, people like YOU are what’s wrong with this place. Go back to your hole.
unfortunately it’s not about safety, if it was the law would be across the board for officers and public alike.
The fact they are booking people using Ipods is interesting. If I was in court for that personally I would challenge it.
The law seems to imply that if the device needs to be hand held to be controlled it is illegal. It is possible to purchase for very little money controls which are located on the headphone cable.
It that point the handheld aspect for control is removed.
The government is hard up for cash and will try to steal our hard earned money anyway possible.