Are we allowed to use cell phone while riding motorbike?

Some days ago, I used my cell phone while riding a motorbike and I had to ride with one hand. That was a call from my friend so we talked for a long time. Then, I met a traffic police. I hung up the phone and stopped at the pavement with a confident attitude because I thought that I was a good citizen who never broke the traffic regulations. However, the police said that I violated the traffic regulation due to using a cell phone while riding a motorbike. He established a record and punished me for a fine of VND 800,000. I was very angry but I could not argue with him because there were a lot of people standing there. So, I had to go home. The police were so ridiculous. Can I complain about him?

FDVN’s opinions:

Thank you for concerning and trusting in FDVN’s legal services. We have studied the law provisions to provide you with our advice. Please kindly see the answer below:

According to the regulations on the administrative sanctions on traffic, the act of using cell phones while participating in the traffic is considered breaching the law. It is stipulated in point h, Clause 4, Article 6 of Decree No. 100/2019/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2019 on administrative penalties for road traffic offenses and rail transport offenses:

“4. A fine ranging from VND 600,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed upon a vehicle operator who commits any of the following violations:

a) Exceeding the speed limits by 10 km/h - 20 km/h;

b) Stopping or parking at inappropriate positions in a road tunnel;

c) Overtaking in cases where overtaking is prohibited, overtaking on roads erected with signs prohibiting operated vehicles from overtaking, except for violations specified in Point h Clause 3 of this Article;

d) Overtaking in road tunnels in inappropriate places; making u-turn in road tunnels;

dd) Failure to yield to or obstructing emergency vehicles that are sending out emergency signals;

e) Failure to comply with the traffic lights;

g) Failure to obey the orders or instructions of the traffic conductor or traffic guard;

h) Using an umbrella, cell phone, or audio device other than hearing aid devices while operating the vehicle.”

Apart from the fine, the rider breaching the regulation mentioned above must bear the additional sanctions according to Clause 10, Article 6 of Decree No. 100/2019/NĐ-CP such as suspension of driving license from 1 month to 3 months. In case of causing traffic accidents, the violation shall lead to suspension of driving license from 2 months to 4 months.

That is the advice of FDVN to your request, based on the study of legal regulations. Hopefully FDVN's advice will be useful to you.

Legal expert: Thanh Tra

FDVN Law Firm

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