Heavy fines in Germany for using touchscreen e-cigarettes while driving—will the Netherlands crack down next?

Germany takes on vaping and driving

It all started with a notable ruling by the Higher Regional Court in Cologne. The case? A motorist in his Audi A6, who, in what probably felt like an innocent moment, decided to tweak the airflow on his touchscreen e-cigarette while stuck behind the wheel. Little did he know that nearby officers spotted the quick adjustment, promptly slapped him with a €150 fine (about $160), and—since he’s a German driver—added a penalty point to his record in the central register in Flensburg.

E-cigarette or smartphone: same difference, says the judge

Not surprisingly, the driver contested the fine, arguing he hadn’t touched a phone, just his e-cigarette. The judge, however, stuck with the police: operating a touchscreen e-cigarette is just as distracting as using a smartphone.

“There is a significant risk of distraction in adjusting the settings on an e-cigarette,”

the ruling made clear. What might seem harmless—a quick glance, a brief tap on the screen—can take a driver’s eyes off the road just as much as reading a message. This, the court stressed, falls directly under Paragraph 23 of the German Road Traffic Regulations (StVO), which prohibits handling all kinds of electronic devices while driving.

The judge went even further, comparing it to turning up the volume on a mobile phone: both activities cause distraction, and that’s precisely what traffic safety laws are designed to prevent.

The Dutch situation: Not illegal (yet), but not exactly encouraged

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, there isn’t an explicit ban on vaping with e-cigarettes while driving—yet. Dutch law mainly targets phones, tablets, and other communication devices behind the wheel. That said, if police in the Netherlands notice dangerous driving caused by fiddling with an e-cigarette (or any device for that matter), a fine is still on the cards.

Will Dutch law follow Germany’s lead?

So, will the Netherlands follow Germany’s example? There’s a growing chorus in Dutch society to expand the ban to all devices with screens or settings that could steal a driver’s concentration. With the current focus on road safety, it seems increasingly likely that similar, stricter rules could pop up in the Netherlands in the future.

For now, the main takeaway is this: Dutch drivers who head over the border should be on high alert. While a quick tweak of your e-cigarette settings might not land you in trouble at home, in Germany you risk a hefty fine and, if you’re a German national, a penalty point in Flensburg too. So, if you value your wallet—and your driving record—it’s safest to keep both hands on the wheel and leave those screens alone.