Police issue stern warning after over 30,000 drivers snapped using phones

[Sprintey]

Stand up Adelaide, a very solid score here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOYO9sVDoNA

There were some frequent flyers too, 3 drivers observed 19 times, 2 drivers 18 times, 1 got 16, and 4 got 15.

$658 and 3 demerits after September 19.

All the lane and braking driver AIDS will save people like this, so they can reproduce, while other drivers will just live with it's intrusiveness, or switch it off every time they get in the car.

[Captain Stubing]

$1209 in QLD (4 points) currently, and worth it to keep driver's attention where it should be.

[Rob 351]

Geez I have enough trouble navigating a bloody phone when I’m not driving.
If you’re caught using a phone while driving you deserve every penalty that comes your way imho!

[aussiblue]

As all the accidents I have been involved in the last 20 year have involved idiots on mobile phones either running into the back of my car or running into the back of another car pushing it into mine while I was stopped at traffic lights or a stop or giveway sign, I'd like the police, in addition to imposing spot fines. given the power to seize and immediately crush any phones with the sims and memory cards inside in such cases. (something akin to a can crusher should do nicely). Like this:



I think it would deter driver phone use more than the fines do.

[Sprintey]

Doing the rounds on the country roads out of town around here, it's from 80-100km/h and I watch oncoming traffic particularly the drivers these days. Not uncommon to see one or two staring down at a phone in a group of 10-20.

Point of impact would be 160-200km/h if they strayed lanes.

I just don't understand what's so important to be head down into it while driving? It must be an addiction - reckon I'm addicted to online news and forum jokes, but this happens when I'm stationary!

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

I just don't understand what's so important to be head down into it while driving? It must be an addiction - reckon I'm addicted to online news and forum jokes, but this happens when I'm stationary!

Starting arguments on AFF

[.:4:.]

Why does nobody like having a car without bluetooth or any of that crap like i have just for the excuse to not have to deal with anyone else?

[In Focus]

These drivers are way too addicted to using their phones to stop even at risk of a fine.

If the phones were confiscated for a month, I reckon the rate of infringements would drop to almost zero.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Starting arguments on AFF

I thought you did that from the crapper...

[EBSXR6]

Originally Posted by In Focus

These drivers are way too addicted to using their phones to stop even at risk of a fine.

If the phones were confiscated for a month, I reckon the rate of infringements would drop to almost zero.

Great idea re confiscating the Phones.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by prydey

I thought you did that from the crapper...

Funny that I'm there right now

[DJM83]

The screen in our Tucson is just as bloody distracting to use as a phone.
Agreed re phone usage in cars, ill admit im not perfect at not using it either.

[arm79]

Originally Posted by Captain Stubing

$1209 in QLD (4 points) currently, and worth it to keep driver's attention where it should be.

One thing I never knew until recently is that Qld has year round double demerit points for certain offences on the second offence.

So if you are caught a second time on your phone, the second offence attracts an immediate 8 point plus increased monetary penalty. And an immediate loss of licence if they have a 4 pointer on the books already.

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

There were some frequent flyers too, 3 drivers observed 19 times, 2 drivers 18 times, 1 got 16, and 4 got 15.

and here's the problem. getting a letter in the post two weeks later, doesn't stop the behavior. A cop pulling them over would have instant results. While I agree stopping phone use is a priority, using cameras is another revenue raising act.

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Funny that I'm there right now

Make sure you put a cross on your forehead so the right turd comes out.........

[b0son]

Originally Posted by simon varley

While I agree stopping phone use is a priority, using cameras is another revenue raising act.

It's low hanging fruit. Texting while driving is a concern, but taking a call is a non-event. The police do so frequently, with no specific phone use while driving training, so its clearly not that big a safety concern. Having to interact with a car's basic functions through a touchscreen is arguably more of a distraction than a phone call.

[Sprintey]

The cameras being revenue-raising this way will be a bit like targeting certain high-usage players at the pokies, most of the revenue will come from one group. All of it is predatory, but in this case the behaviour while driving is also appalling and puts other road users at risk.

[jpd80]

Look out South Australian drivers, this is coming to you….


2022 - 170k Queenslanders caught in first year of phone and seatbelt cameras

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statem...%20the%20roads.

More than 170,000 drivers and front-seat passengers have been snapped doing the wrong thing in 12 months since Queensland's mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras began enforcement.

The cameras caught 119,862 drivers using their phones illegally and 52,542 drivers or front-seat passengers not wearing a seatbelt or wearing it correctly.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the shocking figures indicated too many Queenslanders continued to risk their lives on the roads.

"Each offender needs to ask themself what value they place on their life as using a mobile phone while driving or failing to wear a seatbelt or wear it correctly could easily end in tragedy – that's the reality," Mr Bailey said.

"Using a mobile phone while driving is as dangerous as driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.07-0.10.

"By law, you must not have your phone in your hand or resting on any part of your body, including your lap while driving, regardless of whether the phone is on or in use."

Mr Bailey said all drivers had a responsibility to ensure they and their passengers were wearing a seatbelt and wearing it properly.

"Wearing a seatbelt correctly fastened and adjusted reduces the risk of serious injury in a crash by 50 per cent and death by 45 per cent," he said.

"A seatbelt, if worn correctly, should be worn across the shoulder, the chest and buckled low across the hips. A seatbelt is designed to go across these areas as they are better able to withstand a crash than other parts of the human body."

Any driver caught by the cameras can expect to receive a $1078 fine and lose four demerit points for both mobile phone and seatbelt offences.

"Double demerit points apply for repeat offences within a 12-month period, so if you are caught doing the wrong thing multiple times, you could face losing your licence in addition to the steep fines," Mr Bailey said.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

The cameras being revenue-raising this way will be a bit like targeting certain high-usage players at the pokies, most of the revenue will come from one group. All of it is predatory, but in this case the behaviour while driving is also appalling and puts other road users at risk.

This is more about removing dangerous drivers who won’t change…

Something like 75% of queensland drivers admitted to using their mobile phones while
the interesting part is that about only about 5% of the total number of QLD drivers caught
using phones or not using seat belts. With the double demerits system, repeat offenders
are quickly suspended and then struggle to keep a P licence, they change or use the bus.

[lra]

Using a mobile phone while driving is ............
Same as talking to a passenger ?
Same as navigating a TV sized touch screen ?

Not advocating using a phone while driving, but logically I can't comprehend the difference between a phone and the 2 examples above.
I could not drive a Tesla or a Ranger with those size screens, too distracting, and you have to take your eyes off the road to touch the correct icon for what you want.
Car makers should ditch those screens, and revert back to dials and buttons, at least you can feel those without looking ...... after familiarity. That has worked for yonks, before the fashion over function electronics direction was implemented.

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by lra

Using a mobile phone while driving is ............
Same as talking to a passenger ?
Same as navigating a TV sized touch screen ?
Not advocating using a phone while driving, but logically I can't comprehend the difference between a phone and the 2 examples above.
I could not drive a Tesla or a Ranger with those size screens, too distracting, and you have to take your eyes off the road to touch the correct icon for what you want.
Car makers should ditch those screens, and revert back to dials and buttons, at least you can feel those without looking ...... after familiarity. That has worked for yonks, before the fashion over function electronics direction was implemented.

You may talk on a phone, so long as you don't touch it. ie hands free. Just like talking to your passenger.

TV sized screen? Well, it's a small TV I guess.
How is the screen distracting? Pay attention to what you are doing. The screen is for quick reference, not for staring at.

Most controls are still tactile buttons and switches. Radio, climate, wipers, indicators, cruise control etc. You should apply settings before driving off. making only minor adjustments while mobile.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by GCRXR6

TV sized screen? Well, it's a small TV I guess.
How is the screen distracting? Pay attention to what you are doing. The screen is for quick reference, not for staring at.

Most controls are still tactile buttons and switches. Radio, climate, wipers, indicators, cruise control etc. You should apply settings before driving off. making only minor adjustments while mobile.

Driven a car with a reasonable sized centre display?

So making sat nav changes whilst driving, need to pull over for that?
All HVAC controls on our car are touch buttons below a touchscreen.
The controls on the screen arent distracting whilst driving. They do ive found require eyes to be taken from the road to find some of the functions you want whilst driving. Id assume if you are driving something with a touchscreen display all the time, finding the buttons would be like muscle movement, but i dont drive ours often so it does take a bit more time to find what i want. (which i should have explained in my above post)
I will give you that a lot of functions are available on the steering wheel.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by lra

Using a mobile phone while driving is ............
Same as talking to a passenger ?
Same as navigating a TV sized touch screen ?

Not advocating using a phone while driving, but logically I can't comprehend the difference between a phone and the 2 examples above.
I could not drive a Tesla or a Ranger with those size screens, too distracting, and you have to take your eyes off the road to touch the correct icon for what you want.
Car makers should ditch those screens, and revert back to dials and buttons, at least you can feel those without looking ...... after familiarity. That has worked for yonks, before the fashion over function electronics direction was implemented.

Good questions Ira, I had wondered similar things as you and possibly a lot of other posters here. Zurich Insurance have an intersting blurb on this, American based but I guess the data is interesting and answers many questions.


https://www.zurichna.com/knowledge/a...-while-driving

You might be “half-blind” on the road

The National Safety Council (NSC) published a report more than a decade ago with findings culled from a range of respected researchers that should alarm anyone still using hands-free devices while driving. They include:

Drivers using hands-free and handheld cellphones fail to see up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment. This is known as “inattention blindness” and causes drivers to miss exits and run through red lights and stop signs.5
Drivers using cellphones (again handheld or hands-free) had slower reaction times than drivers impaired by alcohol at a .08 blood alcohol concentration, the legal intoxication limit in most states.5
Listening to the other person during a cellphone conversation decreased activity in an area of the brain associated with driving by 37 percent.5
Considering “inattention blindness” more deeply, imagine some of the information that might fall out of the 50 percent of information your brain is processing: a change in speed limit, an accident on the side of an icy road or a child darting out unexpectedly into the path of your vehicle.

In 2020, the NSC reinforced its message in even stronger words in a report advocating for the ban of cellphone and interactive technology use by drivers. “Hands-free devices and voice command systems are not safer,” the report declared, explaining these systems, like their handheld counterparts, “create a cognitive distraction as the driver mentally engages with interactive tasks.”6

Multitasking is a myth, and a dangerous one when driving

Drivers, and sometimes the companies they work for, may see the use of a phone while driving as part of vital multitasking. However, that same NSC report from 2020 dismisses the very notion of multitasking: “The human brain is not capable of multitasking, or doing two things at once. Instead, the brain is constantly attention-switching between the two tasks, never giving full focus to either one.”6

A 2013 article in Inc. cited a 2010 study by French neuroscientists that supports the NSC statement, showing not only that the human brain wasn’t designed to multitask, but that multitasking can actually have harmful effects on brain function.7

Why passengers don’t pose the same distraction

You might ask, “Isn’t talking with someone else in the car just as dangerous as talking on the phone?” The short answer seems to be “no.” While chatting with a passenger can certainly pose a distraction risk, psychologists at the University of Sussex in England published a study in 2016 indicating it’s less risky than cellphone conversations because passengers tend to moderate the discussion when road hazards become apparent and they share non-verbal cues that create a less cognitively demanding conversation.8

Without these visual cues, the conversation requires more attentiveness on the part of the driver. Naturally, the person on the other end of the phone is unaware of quickly changing travel conditions or certain other factors affecting the driver and cannot react accordingly.

When you’re talking to someone you can’t see, you imagine them visually. The University of Sussex study showed drivers immersed in conversations that triggered their visual imagination detected fewer road hazards than those who were not. They actually failed to see certain hazards directly in front of them and focused on a smaller area of the road ahead than drivers not involved in such conversations.8 Listening to music or a radio program can also present distraction risks, but research indicates those activities are not as mentally demanding as a two-way conversation.9