Study showing illegal phone use on the rise prompts warning

07 Feb 2014

The Transport Accident Commission has issued a reminder to distracted drivers after new research indicated illegal use of mobile phones while driving has nearly doubled since 2004.

The TAC surveyed 946 Victorian motorists in September last year, two months before the Victorian Government raised the penalty for illegal mobile phone use while driving to a fine of $433 (up from $289) and the loss of four demerit points.

63 per cent of respondents reported having used a hand-held mobile phone while driving in the previous month, up from 32 per cent in 2004. The rise can partly be explained by an increased number of mobile phone services in operation and the fact that texting has become more prevalent and mobile devices are now for other purposes, including social media and internet browsing.

More than one-in-10 stated they would read a text while driving and six per cent said they would write texts while at the wheel.

TAC Chief Executive Officer Janet Dore said she was disappointed by the apparent rise in illegal mobile phone use, particularly given that 82 per cent of survey respondents said they believed the activity to be dangerous.

“We have seen a number of cases where this type of distraction has led to fatalities so the link between illegal mobile phone use and road trauma is clear,” Ms Dore said.

“No phone call is so important that it can’t wait a few minutes.”

Ms Dore said using a hand-held mobile phone when driving impairs reaction times and a driver’s ability to maintain an appropriate speed and position on the road, as well as reducing their awareness of other traffic.

Other key findings include:

• 80 per cent of respondents indicated they had been distracted by something while driving in the previous week.
• Females were more likely than males to consider mobile phone dangerous
• Older age groups (40+) considered mobile phone use and distractions in general more dangerous than younger drivers (18-39)
• Regional respondents considered hands-free mobiles more dangerous than metropolitan respondents.
  

View the full research findings

• Road Safety Monitor 2013 Distractions chapter PDF, 0.31MB
• Road Safety Monitor 2013 Distractions chapter DOCX, 0.13MB