Drivers are urged to give up gadgets while driving

The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is launching a new phase of the Mono campaign. His motto will be the phrase "Do not write to me!" (Mij nie appen!). The need for this campaign is explained by the fact that a significant proportion of road traffic accidents (RTA) occur due to the fact that the driver was distracted while driving. Messages coming to gadgets often distract the driver. To reduce the number of victims of road accidents and economic damage, the Mono campaign is being carried out. Drivers who violate the rules will be fined. The campaign was announced on September 26, 2022 on the government portal of the Netherlands.

A study commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Resources showed that about half of young Dutch people do not take into account the fact that the addressee is on the road at the time of sending messages. The MONO campaign is designed to convince people not to read messages while driving or send them to those on the road.

The study showed that a third of the Dutch send messages, even if they know or suspect that their recipient is driving, including a bicycle. In the age group from 16 to 24, there are approximately 50% of such irresponsible message senders. Among Dutch people aged 25 to 34, 40% send messages to current drivers and 49% to cyclists. At the same time, 90% of the inhabitants of the Netherlands know that driver distraction is the main cause of accidents. 7 out of 10 Dutch people receive messages while driving, a third of them immediately look at the information received. The risk of an accident at this moment increases by 2,5 times.

The MONO campaign began in 2018 and initially focused on convincing drivers not to be distracted by messaging and social media messages while driving. The new stage is designed to convince senders of messages not to do this when their interlocutor is on the road. In addition, they want to convince drivers on the road to set the Do Not Disturb mode on their smartphone.

The police will conduct mass checks on the use of smartphones by drivers. We remind you that the use of gadgets when driving transport entails a fine: a cyclist will have to pay 140 euros, and a motorist - 350 euros.

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