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Focusflitser Rollout Drives Sharp 2025 Rise in Dutch Phone-Use Fines

Researchers point to habit, FOMO, overconfidence as reasons phone use persists despite January’s penalty hike.

Overview

  • CJIB recorded 248,020 penalties for holding a mobile device in 2025, up from 165,408 in 2024.
  • Newly deployed focusflitser cameras detected about 30% of those offenses, with the government planning to expand the fleet to 50 units by the end of 2026.
  • The total number of traffic citations fell to about 7.5 million in 2025, a decline CJIB links to nearly half a million fewer speed tickets after equipment replacement.
  • Fines rose in January 2026 to €440 for drivers and €170 for cyclists for holding a phone.
  • SWOV says the cameras raise both actual and perceived chances of being caught, yet entrenched habits including FOMO and overconfidence keep usage high despite research tying it to roughly 2.5 times higher crash risk.