It’s apparently not ‘illegal’ to take phone calls while driving, as per Kerala High Court’s recent ruling. Hearing a case involving a Kochi resident MJ Santosh, who was booked under section 118 (e) Kerala Police Act, the court said that there is no specific law under state or national motor vehicles act that allows police to book anyone for using cell phones while driving. In fact, the case was dismissed on these grounds and the person involved didn’t even have to pay a fine. Also See- Carmakers Will Soon Provide Factory-Fitted Number Plates
It might come across as weird or against the popular belief, but both the section 118(e) of Kerala Police Act and section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act don’t specifically suggest any penalty or challan for this act. The aforementioned sections are instead for dealing with acts causing danger to public or failure in public safety.
“The ‘act’, which is contemplated by the prosecution, is using of a mobile phone while driving a vehicle and thereafter assuming that it may cause danger to public or failure in public safety. In the absence of any statutory provision which prevents use of a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle, it may not be possible to infer that danger will be caused in the process.”, said the court. Also Read – Upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Will Reduce Travel Time to 12 Hours!
To simplify it for you, the existing law only talks about dealing with the consequences/results that may occur when someone is on a call while driving, and not against the action itself. The High Court in fact suggested the state assembly to pass an amendment to include these provisions in the police act to make it an offence. Also See – Supreme Court Proposes BSVI Fuel For 13 Metros By April, 2019
But we all know how dangerous it can get since a driver may get distracted when he’s on a call. So keep your eyes on the road all the time since a phone call genuinely can turn into a death call!
