Knowledge base Road rules Updated 16 Oct 2026 7 min read

Using a mobile communication device while driving

Road Traffic Act section 65B: holding and operating a phone, tablet, or similar device while the vehicle is moving, and the fines and imprisonment the section sets.

mobile phone section-65B Road Traffic Act

Primary source: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/RTA1961?ProvIds=pr65B-

A driver of a vehicle who holds in his or her hand a mobile communication device and operates any of its communicative or other functions, while the vehicle is in motion on a road or in a public place, is guilty of an offence (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B(1)).

On conviction the person is liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B(1)).

This article records that statutory text. It does not invent hands-free exceptions beyond what section 65B itself states.

Wearable devices

To avoid doubt, subsection (1) does not apply to a mobile communication device that is a wearable device (such as a smart watch), when it is worn by the driver or rider in the manner intended by the manufacturer of the wearable device (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B(1A)).

Repeat offenders

Where a person who is convicted or found guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is a repeat offender, the person is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B(2)).

For this section, a repeat offender is a person convicted or found guilty of the current subsection (1) offence who was previously convicted or found guilty, on at least one previous occasion, of an offence under subsection (1), or under section 65B as in force immediately before 1 February 2015, or under section 65B as in force immediately before 1 August 2020 (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B(3)).

What the section defines

“Communicative function” means any of the following (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B(3)):

sending or receiving oral or written messages, audio phone calls or video calls;
sending or receiving electronic documents;
sending or receiving still or moving images;
sending or receiving audio or video files;
providing access to the Internet.

“Mobile communication device” means a mobile phone, or any wireless handheld device (such as a tablet computer) or wearable device (such as a smart watch) designed or capable of being used for a communicative function (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B(3)).

The offence in subsection (1) is holding the device and operating any of its communicative or other functions while the vehicle is in motion. This article does not turn that wording into a list of allowed dashboard mounts.

Enacted amendment not yet reflected in the current Act text

The Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026 (No. 18 of 2026) will amend section 65B by removing the requirement to operate a device function. It also says that touching a device with a hand does not count as holding it when the device is secured in a mounting affixed to the vehicle and used in the manner intended by the mounting manufacturer. The Act also changes the definition of “repeat offender”: the previous offences counted will be an offence under subsection (1), or an offence under section 65B as in force immediately before 1 February 2015 (SSO, Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026, ss. 1 and 10).

The Act says it comes into operation on a date appointed by the Minister by Gazette notification; the enacted text gives no calendar date. The current consolidated Road Traffic Act, as at 6 October 2026, still shows the wording set out above. In a search of SSO's 2026 commencement listings on 24 October 2026, the returned entries included the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2025 (Commencement) Notification but did not show a commencement notification for the 2026 Act. SPF's current penalties table continues to list 12 demerit points and composition amounts of $400 for light vehicles and $500 for heavy vehicles. Check the Gazette for a commencement notification before applying the amendment (SSO, Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026, s. 1; SSO, current Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B; SSO, 2026 Subsidiary Legislation Supplement commencement search; SPF, Penalties for Traffic Offences).

Demerit points

The Road Traffic (Driver Improvement Points System) Rules Schedule awards 12 demerit points for “Use of mobile telephone while driving” (item 42). That scheduled offence is also one of the items for which 2 additional demerit points may be awarded if it is committed in a school zone, silver zone, or Friendly Streets zone (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Driver Improvement Points System) Rules, r. 3(1A) and Schedule).

The Schedule specifies demerit points and does not state a composition amount (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Driver Improvement Points System) Rules, Schedule).

2026 amendment awaiting commencement

The Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026 will amend section 65B(1) by removing the requirement to prove that a driver operated a device function. It will also add subsection (1B), which says that touching a mobile communication device secured in a vehicle mounting, in the manner intended by the mounting's manufacturer, does not count as holding the device. The Act states that it comes into operation on a date appointed by the Minister by Gazette notification (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026, ss. 1 and 10).

The SSO 2026 commencement list checked on 16 October 2026 included a commencement notification for the 2025 Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, but no notification for the 2026 Act. Until a commencement date is appointed, use the current section 65B wording above; check the Gazette before applying the amendment (Singapore Statutes Online, 2026 Subsidiary Legislation Supplement commencement list).

Coverage debt

Under the current wording, section 65B does not specify whether a phone in a cradle, or a device operated without being held, falls inside or outside subsection (1); it states that the driver must “hold in his or her hand” the device (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65B).
Composition fines offered by Traffic Police for this offence are not copied from the live penalties page here.