Cyclists’ phone use can cause distractions and impose risks towards traffic safety. To prevent phone-related distractions, the Netherlands introduced a ban on handheld (HH) phone use for cyclists in July 2019. The effects of traffic rules on phone use and their underlying mechanisms are, however, uncertain. Comparing survey results from the Netherlands before (N = 553) and after (N = 484) the ban, using Denmark (before N = 568, after N = 519) as comparison group, this study explores whether introducing a ban is associated with changes in phone use, traffic rule beliefs, perceived risk, sense of guilt, and perceived annoyance.

Comparison of phone function use before and after the Dutch ban revealed a significant decrease in the proportion using HH phone for conversation, while there was no change for other functions. In Denmark, proportions remained stable for all functions. Changes in the Netherlands possibly correspond to specific phone functions characteristics, e.g., how effortless one can pause and resume the function. The results additionally identified an increase in correct traffic rule identification, sense of guilt for HH phone use, and perceived annoyance, while there was no significant change in perceived risk of HH phone use.

The study found that banning HH phone use was associated with increase in correct rule identification, but only to limited changes in HH phone use. Banning HH phone use might have greater effects in changing behaviours over time as a result of social mechanisms related to changes in sense of guilt and perceived annoyance.

骑自行车的人使用手机可能会导致分心并给交通安全带来风险。为防止与电话相关的干扰，荷兰于 2019 年 7 月禁止骑自行车者使用手持 (HH) 电话。然而，交通规则对电话使用的影响及其潜在机制尚不确定。比较荷兰在禁令之前（N  = 553）和之后（N  = 484）的调查结果，以丹麦（之前N  = 568，之后N  = 519）为对照组，探讨引入禁令是否与变化相关在电话使用、交通规则信念、感知风险、内疚感和感知烦恼方面。

荷兰禁令前后的电话功能使用比较显示，使用 HH 电话进行通话的比例显着下降，而其他功能没有变化。在丹麦，所有职能的比例保持稳定。荷兰的变化可能与特定的电话功能特性相对应，例如，如何轻松地暂停和恢复该功能。结果还发现正确的交通规则识别、家庭电话使用的内疚感和感知烦恼的增加，而家庭电话使用的感知风险没有显着变化。

该研究发现，禁止家庭电话使用与正确规则识别的增加有关，但仅与家庭电话使用的有限变化有关。由于与内疚感和感知烦恼的变化相关的社会机制，禁止使用 HH 电话可能会对随着时间的推移改变行为产生更大的影响。