Sign up for road safety: Mobile phones and distractions

This week is Queensland Road Safety Week and together with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) we’re committing to putting road safety first.

In 2019, 21 lives were lost, and 1,473 people were seriously injured on Queensland roads in crashes involving distracted drivers or riders.

If you’re travelling at 60km/h and take your eyes off the road for just two seconds, your vehicle will travel more than 33 metres. With the average person’s reaction time around 1.8 seconds, this means nearly four seconds can pass before a driver reacts to a hazard!

If you’re driving distracted, you are putting yourself and others at serious risk.

Distracted driving is caused by any activity that takes your attention off the road which could include taking your eyes off the road or your hands off the steering wheel. All types of distracted driving increase your risk of a car crash, major injury and even death.

Mobile phones are one of the biggest distractors for drivers. Texting while driving is as dangerous as drink driving and can have serious consequences.

The unexpected can happen at any time so eliminate distractions when you’re out on the roads.

Plan ahead and stay safe

Activate the ‘Do not disturb while driving’ feature on your smartphone before you get behind the wheel or on your motorcycle to help avoid using your phone.

For more information, visit https://streetsmarts.initiatives.qld.gov.au/driver-distraction/leave-your-phone-alone.

Queensland Road Safety Week is running from 24 – 28 August. Put road safety first and show your support by signing up for road safety:

  1. Think of a road safety message you want to share, then put it on a sign or create one using a TMR template.
  2. Take a photo of your sign, making sure we can read your road safety message.
  3. Share your photo! Fill in this form to add your sign to the TMR gallery, or share it on your socials tagging @StreetSmarts QLD.

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