This week is Queensland Road Safety Week and together with Department of Transport and Main Roads, StreetSmarts, we’re committed to putting road safety first. In 2018, 245 people were killed on Queensland roads.
You’ve heard about the Fatal Five but did you know that one in every nine fatalities in 2018 were a result of distraction?
Mobile phones are a distraction in basically every part of our lives.
While they make our lives so much easier in so many ways, they can be deadly on our roads.
Using a mobile phone is a physical, visual, auditory and cognitive distraction. When you’re travelling at 60km/h, looking down at your phone for a mere two seconds can result in you travelling 33.33 metres without looking at the road. That’s 33.3 metres you have travelled blindly, unaware of your surroundings.
Keep distractions to a minimum so you can ensure safer roads for all road users.
The facts:
- Driving while using a mobile phone held in your hand is illegal, even if stopped in traffic or at traffic lights.
- Learner and P1 drivers under 25 are not permitted to use hands-free wireless headsets or a mobile phone’s loudspeaker function.
And if you choose to use your phone:
- You can be fined $400 and three demerit points.
- Double demerits also apply for second or subsequent mobile phone offences committed within one year of an earlier offence.
So why wouldn’t you put the phone away?
Put road safety first today:
- Coffee with a Cop at Moranbah, 5am – 8am on Grosvenor Drive.
- Ipswich Road Safety Event, 10am – 2pm at the BP Haigslea
- Drink Rite Night, 3pm – 5pm at the Townsville Hotel
- Campfire sausage sizzle, 11am – 2pm on Bulloo Development Road intersection with Hungerford Road
For a full and up-to-date list, visit StreetSmarts.
