The Public Security Police (PSP) said yesterday that its officers recorded 4,842 cases of drivers using mobile phones while driving between January and July this year, an enormous year-on-year increase of 47 percent compared with the same period of last year.
Sam Chi Lap, a senior officer with the PSP Traffic Department, made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a police operation near StarWorld Hotel in Nape to nab drivers using mobile phones while driving.
Sam said that among the 4,842 recorded cases, 4,601 were committed by car drivers. Offenders face a 600-pataca fine.
Sam also said that between January and July this year, the police recorded some 7,300 traffic accidents, a seven percent decrease year on year.
Sam said that the number of traffic accident injuries was about 2,400, resulting in five fatalities during the 7-month period, adding that both figures dropped compared to the same period of last year.
Sam also said that the police recorded 1,118 cases of drivers jumping a red light between January and July, an increase of 150 percent from the same period of last year when some 440 cases were recorded. Among the 1,118 cases, 892 cases were committed by car drivers.
