Shanghai deploys cameras to catch drivers using mobile phones

Shanghai police has started using road cameras to record drivers who use mobile phones while driving and has begun issuing tickets to them, The Beijing News reported.

More than 30 drivers have been fined 200 yuan ($30) each and two points from their driving license have been deducted for their dangerous behavior in one week in late July.

A traffic police officer in Shanghai's Songjiang district said that road cameras have been recently upgraded to take instantaneous photos of the driver and vehicle. Officers will verify the violation on the e-police platform and offenders will be issued a fine with the photos acting as proof.

"Traffic incidents have increased a lot as some drivers lack self-discipline in using mobile phones," a Beijing traffic police officer said, adding that on the first day of the Tomb-sweeping Festival holiday this year, about half of the accidents can be blamed on drivers using mobile phone while driving.

Such dangerous driving habit has also caught the attention of political advisors.

During this year's two sessions, Zhou Hongyu, deputy to the National People's Congress and vice-chairman of the Hubei provincial legislature, along with 29 other deputies, suggested an increase in punishment on rule-breakers.

Their plan proposed raising the fine from "200 to 2,000 yuan and deducting six points from license for talking on the phone or watching TV while driving". They also said that the violators should be detained and charged with "dangerous driving".