Will the passenger playing with a phone result in penalty points while driving?
3 Answers
During driving, the related passenger playing with a phone will not result in penalty points. Hazards of using a phone while driving: 1. Reduced safety: Phone screens are getting larger, making it difficult to operate with just one hand while driving. This significantly impacts speed control, distance judgment, and obstacle avoidance, greatly increasing the risk of operational errors or loss of vehicle control, leading to accidents. 2. Distracted attention: When a driver uses a phone while driving, at least half of their attention is diverted to the phone, inevitably neglecting observation of surrounding vehicles and pedestrians. In case of emergencies, this drastically reduces adaptability and reaction time, resulting in traffic accidents. Research shows: The risk of a crash while using a phone is four times higher than during normal driving, and 70% of fatal accidents are caused by driver distraction. 3. Narrowed field of vision: Using a phone while driving narrows the driver's field of vision, particularly reducing the ability to perceive distant objects. Tests indicate: When a driver looks at a phone while driving, it takes about 3 seconds for the eyes to shift from the phone to the road, process in the brain, initiate braking, and bring the vehicle to a complete stop. During this time, a vehicle traveling at 60 km/h will cover over 50 meters, while avoiding an accident requires at least 20 meters of distance. 4. Major cause of traffic congestion: Using a phone inevitably slows the vehicle speed significantly compared to normal driving, directly leading to traffic congestion.
From the perspective of a veteran driver with 20 years of experience, let me talk about this issue. The passenger playing with their phone in the front seat definitely won't cause the driver to get penalty points, as this is the passenger's behavior, and penalty points are only imposed on the driver's own actions. However, the problem is that passengers watching videos or playing games often distract the driver's attention, such as suddenly laughing out loud, patting your shoulder, or the phone's sound being too loud. Especially on highways, if the driver gets distracted for just one second, it's equivalent to driving blindly for 30 meters, which is extremely dangerous. I've personally experienced a situation where a passenger screamed while watching a horror movie, almost causing me to rear-end another car. Legally speaking, the "Road Traffic Safety Law" indeed only regulates the driver's behavior, but if an accident occurs due to passenger interference, the police may still hold the driver accountable. So even if it's not a violation, I would still remind passengers not to play with their phones—safe driving requires cooperation from everyone in the car.
From the perspective of a fleet safety officer, I consider passengers playing with phones in the co-pilot seat as an essential safety hazard chain. Legally speaking, it's true that passengers using phones won't incur penalty points, as the point deduction rules only target drivers operating mobile devices. However, this creates a vicious cycle: when the co-pilot scrolls through TikTok, the driver tends to glance at the screen, or sudden exclamations from the co-pilot may trigger abrupt braking. Test data shows that when drivers are distracted by co-pilots, their reaction time increases by 40%, doubling the risk of rear-end collisions. Last week, a truck in our fleet nearly hit guardrails precisely because the co-pilot screamed while playing mobile games. Therefore, despite the absence of legal penalties, I mandate all fleet members to stow their phones upon boarding. Co-pilots should either assist with navigation or remain quietly resting, eliminating distractions at their source.
