SINGAPORE Going a step beyond tough police restrictions against using a handheld phone while driving, the Automobile Association of Singapore recommended Sunday that such errant motorists be banned from driving altogether. In mid-May, Singapore police announced they would confiscate mobile phones from motorists caught using them while driving. Talking on a handheld phone while driving is illegal for safety reasons, though using a hands-free car phone is not.

Those violating the rule are fined 170 Singapore dollars (100) and receive demerit points on their licenses in addition to losing their phones. According to state-run television, the Automobile Association of Singapore said they support tough new measures by the traffic police to deter speeding and dangerous driving. These include the mobile phone rule and a recent regulation to revoke a driver's license from those caught exceeding the speed limit by 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour).

But the automobile association said confiscating phones isn't enough of a deterrent, since culprits can simply buy another. Its better to have something that's practical, something that people can follow, and something that can be enforced, said Gerard Ee, president of the association. It is the attitude of the driver that one attempts to correct. More than one-quarter of Singapore's three million people have mobile phones, and they can be heard ringing everywhere from movie theaters to church services.

(AP)