People caught crossing the road while staring at a mobile phone should be fined in a bid to stem the spike in pedestrian deaths, the RACQ says.

A Sign at the Brisbane Ekka warning about crossing the road while distracted. ( ABC News: Patrick Williams )

Spokesman Paul Turner said penalties similar to jay walking should be introduced to reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.

"We think that sort of offence is on its way. There's no doubt about it," he said.

The statistics are telling — this year in Queensland, 16 pedestrians have been hit and killed, compared with 10 for the same half-year period five years ago.

Five of those deaths have been in the past month.

"You stand at one of those intersections in the CBD for half an hour and you'll see five or 10 people just being saved or stopping themselves from walking out into traffic because they were looking down at their phone," Mr Turner said.

"When you tap them on the shoulder and they look up it's as though they've been in some sort of daze because they are so engrossed in their phone.

"We haven't spoken to the authorities about the idea of a fine, but it is really an issue which has come to the fore in Queensland in the past few months with so many recent deaths."

Earlier this month, Caroline Davis, 33, was killed on her birthday when she was hit by a ute while jogging at Chelmer in south-west Brisbane.

Caroline Davis, 33, was killed while jogging in Brisbane's south-west. ( Facebook: Caroline Davis )

Also this month, a pedestrian was critically injured on the city's northside, and a 67-year-old woman was killed and her partner injured when they were struck by a car in Logan City, south of Brisbane.

Yesterday, a woman in her 20s sustained severe leg injuries when she was run over by a bus in Brisbane's CBD.

It is not known whether any of these cases were linked to mobile phones or other devices.

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The Queensland-based Pedestrian Council of Australia has called for speed limits to be reduced to 30 kilometres per hour in built-up areas.

Chairman Harold Scruby said it was not about taking away the responsibility off pedestrians, but about bringing Queensland speed limits in line with other countries.

"We have, right around Australia, this phenomenon where the pedestrian death toll is going back up through the roof," he said.

However, the RACQ said the problem needed broader action.

"You can do whatever about speed limits but if you get hit by a car at 30 or 40 kays an hour, you're still going to be in a lot of trouble," Mr Turner said.

"This is about looking up — you do not cross a road with your head down and your phone on."

He said a campaign was needed in built-up areas of inner Brisbane to encourage pedestrians to look up before they crossed the road.

He admitted a penalty was only part of the solution, because many people would still risk a fine believing they would never be caught.

Fine could work as a deterrent: police

Assistant Police Commissioner Mike Keating said an average fine of about $50 could be a deterrent.

"It's worth considering in the long run to see if it would affect road safety, and any initiative that improves road safety is always a good thing," he said.

Mr Keating said more than 10 per cent of fatalities each year were pedestrian deaths, and most could be avoided.

"Only this morning I was walking through the city and I saw a lady on the opposite side of the road, on her phone, walk straight across behind a red light," he said.

"She did something really silly — she was an adult and could have made a much better decision about her safety.

"It is the most basic rule we are taught as children about safely crossing the street."