"The law is vague"

Cell phone allowed while cycling according to court

A cyclist was stopped by the police with his cell phone in his hand - but he doesn't have to pay.(Bild: SFIO CRACHO – stock.adobe.com)

Cycling into a planned square with his cell phone in his hand. While any car driver would have paid a lot of money, a Viennese simply cycled on happily - he didn't get fined. This is because the Vienna Administrative Court ruled that simply holding a cell phone is permitted.

Hands off the cell phone at the wheel - not only is it one of the most common causes of accidents, it can also be quite expensive for drivers, cyclists and the like. But not for a Viennese man who was riding his bike in the evening at the end of last June with his cell phone in his left hand.

Administrative Court rules in favor of cyclist
He cycled into the middle of a police square - 50 euros please, they said. However, the man did not want to pay, as he had neither made a call nor used his cell phone. He was simply waiting for his girlfriend to call. The case went to the Vienna Administrative Court, which ruled: "Merely holding a cell phone while cycling does not constitute an administrative offense." The Viennese therefore does not have to pay.

When the ban on cell phones in motor vehicles was tightened this year, the application to bicycles and e-scooters was apparently forgotten.

ÖAMTC-Jurist Matthias Wolf

Bild: ÖAMTC/Postl

Although an amendment to the law only came into force this year, which tightened the ban on cell phones at the wheel, this does not apply to bicycles and e-scooters. ÖAMTC lawyer Matthias Wolf criticizes: "The law is often vague and is therefore very strained by the courts." The law is stricter when it comes to driving: even if you are only holding your cell phone in your hand, you have to pay 100 euros, according to a high court.

Even if this is not the case when cycling, Wolf warns: "Distraction is a frequent cause of accidents and leads to terrible accidents." So it's better to put your cell phone down completely.