Facts
In this case, it involved a driver, [X.] , who held his mobile phone in his left hand for approximately 15 seconds while driving on the motorway at a speed of around 80 to 100 km/h. The District Court of Bülach had subsequently convicted him of a simple traffic violation and imposed a fine of 250 Swiss francs. However, on appeal by [X.] , the High Court of the Canton of Zurich acquitted him.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Canton of Zurich then filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court. It requested that the judgment of the High Court be overturned and that [X.] be punished with a fine of 250 Swiss francs for a simple traffic violation. Alternatively, the case should be remanded to the lower instance for a new assessment.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the complaint of the Office of the Attorney General. It concluded that holding the mobile phone for 15 seconds had not unduly impaired the operation of the vehicle. Although the law (Art. 3 para. 1 sentence 2 VRV) stipulates that any activity that impairs the operation of the vehicle is prohibited, the Federal Supreme Court found that in the present case, there were no indications of a distraction of the driver's attention, and he was able to perform the traffic-relevant manipulations with the other hand. Given the specific traffic conditions, it was not apparent that holding the phone in any way impaired the driver's ability to fulfill…