Last year, there were 24,306 offenses related to the use of mobile phones while driving, which represents an increase of 5.5% over the previous year, according to data.

The National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), the National Republican Guard (GNR) and the Public Security Police (PSP) will launch on Tuesday, February 15, the Road Safety Campaign “At the wheel, your cell phone can wait".

For a week, drivers will be alerted to the “negative and even fatal consequences of improper use of using a mobile phone while driving”, as this practice increases “by four times the probability of having an accident, causing an increase in reaction tim for drivers”.

Drivers who use mobile phones are slower to recognise and react to dangers, explain the security authorities, adding that the use of electronic devices while driving "causes difficulty in interpreting the signs".

The campaign will feature awareness-raising actions by the ANSR and inspection operations by the GNR and the PSP, with a special focus on roads with high road traffic and in accordance with the National Inspection Plan 2022.

The awareness-raising actions will take place simultaneously with inspection operations in Lisbon, Bragança, Guimarães, Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Cova da Piedade, according to a joint statement from the three security authorities and the Internal Administration.