A RACV poll has revealed that many Victorians consider drivers using phones one of their biggest road safety concerns.
This follows the Victorian Government figures that reveal over 17 million dollars in fines were issued to drivers for breaching the distracted driving rules during the first six months of enforcement from detection cameras introduced in July last year.
From 1 July to 30 December 2023, 30,231 drivers were captured by the cameras, with drivers facing penalties of four demerit points and a fine of $577 for using a mobile device, including phones, when driving.
A reminder:
Don’t touch your unmounted or wearable device while you’re driving or riding – this includes cars, motorbikes, bicycles, e-scooters and even rollerblades.
Drivers may briefly touch a mounted device or inbuilt system for functions such as music and navigation, provided they are not entering text, scrolling, or viewing images, social media, websites, or videos.
For wearable devices such as smart watches, you can’t touch the device while driving or riding. You can only use voice controls to initiate, accept or reject audio calls, play, or stream audio materials, or adjust volume levels.
For mobile phones and tablets, the mounting must be commercially designed and manufactured for that purpose, and the device must be secured in the mounting.
Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/automobile-automotive-blue-car-1853615/