news, local-news, police, mobile phones, fines, covert, demerit poionts, motorcycle

An officer on an unmarked police motorcycle caught the same drivers illegally using their mobile phones in exactly the same Canberra location several times within a few weeks, prompting senior ACT police to express extreme frustration around this deadly driving practice. "The message about the dangers of driver distraction just isn't getting through," Acting Traffic Operations Superintendent Marcus Boorman said. "It seems that once people pay the fine, they quickly forget and go back to doing exactly the same thing again, sometimes in exactly the same place. "As police, we know we can't enforce our way out of this problem so clearly there needs to be some sort of circuit breaker to dramatically change people's behaviour." The covert police motorcycle, a narrow-framed Yamaha MT-109, has been patrolling Canberra's roads for the past six weeks catching dozens of drivers on their phones, as well as numerous other offences. Over the six weeks, the experienced senior Traffic Operations senior constable who rides the bike, and whose identity The Canberra Times has been asked to protect, has issued 174 offence notices and dozens of cautions. Of the tickets issued, 108 have been for illegally using a mobile phone while driving. This carries a minimum fine of $480 and three demerit points. If the driver is using the mobile for social media or to surf the internet, the fine goes up to $588 with four demerit points. Demerit points are currently doubled during the holiday driving season. Research shows drivers who look at their mobile phones while driving are three times more likely to be involved in a crash. In July this year, ACT learner drivers and P-platers were banned from any mobile phone use while driving, including the use of hands-free devices. Women, say police, are the worst offenders when it comes to illegal mobile phone use in the ACT. Women drivers make up around three-quarters of the drivers stopped under the covert program. For police, one of the most concerning elements of mobile phone distraction is that drivers looking at their phone become completely unaware of what is going on around them. "Sitting at the traffic lights, drivers are so absorbed by their phone they don't even know the police officer is sitting there alongside on his bike, looking in at them for four or five seconds, until he [the officer] taps on the window glass," Acting Superintendent Boorman said. A camera and a microphone on the side of the officer's helmet records everything. "The first thing the drivers usually does when they see the police is either to drop the phone or throw it across the car," he said. "But it's all recorded on the helmet camera so there's no much point." Driver distraction and specifically illegal mobile phone use is fast emerging as one of the most significant road safety issues. "While it's difficult to get an entirely accurate picture of the problem, we know that illegally using phones while driving are a significant contributor to rear end collisions in the ACT," he said. ACT Road Safety Minister Shane Rattenbury is hugely supportive of police efforts to prevent people illegally using their phones when driving and says his office is closely monitoring the most recent world-first NSW enforcement program which uses covert cameras to photograph drivers from above. Ten cameras are currently operating and a further 35 are planned over four years. In the first week in which the NSW traffic cameras were operating, 3033 drivers were caught illegally using their phones. "I know from personal experience that when I use my car's hands-free Bluetooth phone capability, it takes my full attention away from the road," Mr Rattenbury said. "Everyone has a limited amount of cognitive bandwidth and you need as much of that as possible to operate a vehicle safely. "Even talking to someone using Bluetooth absorbs part of that bandwidth. Add the distraction of texting or looking down at the phone while driving and that's a very dangerous practice."

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