Mobile devices are a road safety menace, NRMA investigation finds

Around one-in-five of the 1,037 NRMA Members across NSW and the ACT who responded to the survey for our report admitted to using their phones illegally – and a similar proportion reported being involved in near-misses behind the wheel because the other driver was distracted by their phone.

And even though 99 per cent of motorists knew it was illegal to use a phone without hands-free technology, 15 per cent claimed they were not likely to get caught breaking the law.

With less than two-thirds of respondents believing they were likely to be detected using their phone illegally, it is clear that a significant grey area exists for motorists who might be tempted to defy the rules under certain circumstances.

But the majority of Members (55 per cent) have Bluetooth or a hands-free kit set up in their cars, while a quarter keep their phones turned off or out of reach.

Six per cent don’t take their phones with them in their cars, leaving 14 per cent keep the phone turned on within reaching distance but not in a hands-free set-up.

The most popular reasons for using a phone while driving are to let people know where they are (54 per cent), for work (49 per cent), to contact family (46 per cent), to contact friends (28 per cent) and in emergencies (19 per cent).

This might explain why nine per cent of respondents don’t regard talking on a hand-held phone as distracting behaviour, compared to five per cent who read text messages and take selfies or four per cent who surf the web and send text messages.

But with 19 per cent reading texts, 18 per cent talking on a hand-held phone and 11 per cent writing and sending texts while driving, it is clear why fines issued in NSW for illegal use of mobile phones when driving rose 8.7 per cent between 2015 and 2016. 

Download Can't Talk. Driving report here.