Greece to fine €350 and suspend licenses for smartwatch use while driving

Greek authorities are reviewing a change to traffic regulations that would treat the use of smartwatches behind the wheel the same as mobile phone use. AI‑enabled traffic cameras would detect wrist gestures indicating a driver is looking at a smartwatch. If adopted, the penalty would be a €350 fine and a 30‑day suspension of the driver’s licence; a lesser breach could carry a €150 fine and a 20‑day suspension.

The current Greek road code does not specifically cover smartwatches, but officials argue that modern devices can make calls, send messages, display navigation and play music, posing the same distraction risk as phones. The proposal follows similar rules in the United Kingdom, where smartwatches are already covered by phone‑use penalties of around €235 and six penalty points. Drivers are advised to disable smartwatch notifications or use a dedicated driving mode while travelling in Greece.