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Canberra drivers caught using their phone behind the wheel this Christmas will be slugged six demerit points. The ACT government will double the penalties for driver distraction offences during the festive season, echoing the NSW government's crackdown on motorists using their mobiles announced last week. ACT Justice Minister Shane Rattenbury said aligning with NSW "will send a strong message that using your hand-held mobile phone to talk or text is dangerous, irresponsible and selfish behaviour which puts the driver and other road users at risk". Current fines for driver distraction offences range from $149 to $386, with mobile phone offences attracting the steepest penalties. Getting caught using a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel will set you back $386 and, ordinarily, three demerit points. The demerit point penalty will be doubled between December 24 and January 3, and mobile phone offences will also be included in all future double-demerit periods. Eight hundred cautions and fines were circulated for mobile offences in the first half of this year, but the numbers of people being pinged has dwindled in the last few years. Last year, 1115 fines were handed out with 494 cautions issued. The previous year, 1356 fines and 540 cautions were distributed. An ACT Policing spokesman said drivers were often caught with their phones in their lap or wedged between their ear and their shoulder. Traffic lights are also a hot spot for fines. "Some drivers think it's ok to use their phone for checking the time, changing the music, getting directions etc. It's not just calls and texts that are distracting – if you're looking at or even touching your phone while driving you can get a ticket," he said. "It doesn't matter if it's on loud speaker – you can't use your phone without an approved hands-free device. The most appropriate place to make or receive a telephone call is on the side of the road when your vehicle is stationary. That doesn't include traffic lights." Even when you're using a hands-free system in the car, police recommend keeping the conversation short, refusing to engage in complex or emotional conversations, telling the person on the other end that you are driving and ending the call if it is distracting you from driving.

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