ROME – An Italian driver was stopped by astonished police in the southern city of Bari on Saturday when they saw him speaking on two phones with a handset in each hand and no control of the wheel.
Asked to explain his actions, the 43-year-old driver of an Alfa Romeo 166 saloon car said he was speaking to his wife when his mother called and he could not hang up on either of them, the Corriere Della Sera daily reported.
The man – a professional truck driver – made matters worse when he admitted that he frequently spoke on two handsets while on work trips.
Police fined him 152 euros ($198) and took five points off his licence.
Driving while speaking on even one mobile phone is officially banned in Italy and speaker systems should be used but the law is widely flouted.
An amateur video of a bus driver in Rome steering with his elbows while using two phones went viral in May and forced his suspension.