The fine for holding a phone while cycling is steep enough that people assume the officer must have got it wrong, or that checking a map has to be an exception. It is neither, and the distinction the law genuinely draws is narrower than most cyclists imagine.
It is, and as of 2026 it costs €170, plus administration costs on top, so the total you'll actually pay lands closer to €180. This has applied to cyclists since July 2019 — before that, only drivers of motor vehicles were covered, but the law was extended to bikes specifically because so many phone-related cycling accidents were happening. The rule is about holding it, not using navigation in general: a phone mounted in a handlebar holder is fine, and glancing at it there while riding won't get you fined, but picking it up, holding it to your ear, or texting with it in your hand will. It applies whether you're checking a map, answering a call, or just texting a friend that you're running late — officers don't distinguish between those, so the safest habit is mounting the phone before you start riding rather than holding it "just for a second" at a red light.