In a joint statement, the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), the GNR and the PSP recall that the campaign “At the wheel, the cell phone can wait”, which took place between 15 and 21 of this month across the country, aimed to warn drivers of the “serious consequences of using a mobile phone while driving”.

For the first time, this campaign involved the participation of the services of the regional administrations of the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.

The campaign was publicised across digital media and through five ANSR awareness-raising actions, carried out simultaneously with the inspection operations under the responsibility of the GNR and PSP in Lisbon, Bragança, Guimarães, Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Cova da Piedade. Identical actions took place in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.

In total, 51,112 vehicles were inspected in person and 15,176 infractions were recorded, of which 1,394 related to the use of mobile phones while driving.

During the campaign period, the authorities recorded 2,178 accidents, resulting in 11 fatalities, 30 serious injuries and 618 minor injuries.

The 11 fatalities, all male, were aged between 19 and 83 years.

The accidents occurred in the districts of Braga, Leiria, Lisbon, Viseu, Portalegre, Setúbal, Évora and Beja.

Compared to the same period in 2021, there were 817 more accidents, six more fatalities, five more serious injuries and 219 more minor injuries.