Netherlands Proposes Legislation To Ban Use Of Phones On Bicycles (npr.org)

The Dutch government is considering a proposal to ban the use of smartphones and other "mobile electronic devices" on bicycles. From a report: Infrastructure Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen published the draft legislation on Thursday, NL Times reports. If approved, it could go into effect in the summer of 2019. It is already illegal to use a phone while driving a motor vehicle in the Netherlands, the news site says. Offenders face a fine of more than $250. Biking is a widespread form of transportation in the Netherlands, and extending the telephone ban to bikes has been discussed for several years. In 2015, then-Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen concluded that it would be impossible to enforce a ban on phone use on bikes, according to a 2016 story from Dutch News. But the following year, the government began reconsidering its position.

Comments

Just not allowed in hand

[Njovich]

The proposed ban only bans holding electronics in your hand while riding your bike. You can still use a headset, odometer, GPS, etc, just not in your hand while riding. You are allowed to use them when standing still. The same is already true for cars.

There are lots of kids texting while riding their bike on the public road, leading to an increase in accidents. Things like this are a common occurrence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Re:That's going to really tick off people

[JaredOfEuropa]

You are allowed to use them if they are in a cradle, as is the case when driving a car. Mind, a copper can still do you for 'dangerous conduct' (Art. 5 WVW 1994) if he notices you spend an awful long time looking at the cell phone clipped to the dash instead of watching the road. I wonder if they will apply that law to bike riders as well.