Traffic accidents caused by mobile phone distractions: who pays?

More and more accidents are being caused by distractions from using a mobile phone. To prevent them, the DGT is studying making the driver who causes an accident by using their phone at the wheel bear the costs out of their own pocket.

Using a mobile phone while driving has become the main cause of road deaths over the last two years, even surpassing alcohol and speeding. Currently, more than 500 people die on our roads due to this irresponsible behaviour.

The DGT has announced that the penalty for using a mobile phone while driving, which currently costs 3 points on the driving licence, could soon rise to between 4 and 6 points.

For this reason, the DGT has already confirmed that it is studying increasing the penalties for using a mobile phone at the wheel. This offence would result in a loss of up to six points on the driving licence, compared with the current 3-point penalty. A change that could take effect in just a couple of months.

The controversy, however, arises from the DGT’s response on Twitter to a proposal from Pons Seguridad Vial.According to this proposal, in a traffic accident in which the driver involved was using a mobile phone, it would be the driver who had to pay for the damages of the accident, instead of the vehicle’s insurance. To put this measure into effect, the first step would be to amend section A of Article 10 of the Law on Civil Liability and Insurance for Motor Vehicles. As a result of this amendment, the insurance company could claim back from the driver the amount of compensation paid for the damages of an accident, if it is proven that the accident was caused by improper use of a mobile phone.

How can it be proven that a driver involved in an accident was using their phone?

According to Pons Seguridad Vial, this measure would lead drivers to stop using their mobile phones at the wheel, since they would not be covered by their insurer in the event of an accident. Accidents on the road caused by phone use would thus be reduced by between 30 and 40 percent, cutting road deaths each year by between 150 and 200.

And this is where the main problem the DGT faces in implementing this measure lies. It is very difficult to prove that a driver was using a mobile phone at the moment of an accident. The link could be established by analysing the data recorded on the device to relate it to the accident. But what seems technically straightforward is not so from a legal standpoint.

Let us imagine several scenarios. You are travelling with a passenger, and it could be the passenger who is handling the device. Or you are using your phone and its associated services through the permitted connection systems, through your data plan. For example, the navigation app. Or receiving and sending messages on various email and social media platforms, whether by voice control or using the features of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, to name just a couple.

The best solution: “car mode”

It is clear that improper use of a mobile phone at the wheel is a very serious problem that needs to be solved. And drivers are the first who must become aware of it. And if we are unable to keep our phones switched off while driving, one of the best options is to activate the so-called “car mode”, which limits the device’s functions, much like the “airplane mode” that all mobile phones already have.

Currently, phones running iOS 11 or later can activate this feature, or let the device detect the vehicle’s movement. With the car in motion, the phone switches to silent mode and turns off the screen, and sends an automatic reply to incoming calls to let the caller know you are driving. It is even possible for the caller to reply with the word “urgent” so that a notification is received only in that case.

Some phones running the Android operating system also have a “car mode” in which only the browser or music playback features remain active.

Related information

-10 distractions at the wheel that can cost you dearly
-Traffic fines: how many points and euros will I lose?