Jamming device for car phones urged
HI-TECH devices would be installed to block out phone signals in every Australian car under a radical proposal from Victoria’s cycling lobby group.
The Bicycle Network has called on governments to force mobile-obsessed drivers into looking at the road by placing mandatory phone intervention technology in every vehicle.
But the plan will be controversial because the devices could also cut reception to passengers’ phones and prevent the use of mobiles in an emergency.
The push comes after a report by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics forecast that texting and selfies in cars would help push the state’s road toll up over the next decade.
The government modelling predicts that the number of fatalities in Victoria will surge from 258 in 2017 to 329 in 2030.
“Improvements in vehicle and infrastructure safety are expected to be more than offset by increased car travel and distraction from mobile phones and other devices,” the report states.
“New measures will be required to offset the growth in fatalities associated with increased traffic volumes.”
The state’s road toll sits at 85 lives lost since January 1 — down from 99 deaths at the same time last year.
In the past year, eight cyclists have died on our roads and another 195 have required hospital treatment.
Bicycle Network CEO Craig Richards said the worrying document showed that “one-armed” drivers needed to be stopped from touching their devices.
“This dire prediction of increased loss of life highlights that cars should be fitted with phone blocking technology,” he said. “As bike riders we can see into cars and what drivers are up to.”
More than 80 drivers are busted using their phones every day, including some who take selfies behind the wheel.