No drop in phone use by ‘sneaky’ drivers

SNEAKY drivers are perfecting techniques to shield illegal mobile phone use from police, leading to a plunge in distracted driving offences in the past five years.

Driver distraction infringements fell 40 per cent from 2013 to 2017, but the Transport Department doesn’t believe the problem is getting better, as the rate of fatal car crashes linked to inattentive motorists continues to rise.

“Despite the best efforts of enforcement, and education programs, people are still choosing to engage in distracting behaviour while driving,” a department spokeswoman said.

“We understand people are finding methods of concealing use.

“Research of Queensland drivers has shown strategies such as keeping the phone low – in the lap or on the passenger seat – are used by drivers to avoid detection.”

These tactics are making it particularly difficult for police to catch drivers using phones at night or in low light, in heavy traffic, or when vehicles have dark, tinted windows.

But police have few options to fight back because operations involving spotters and motorcycle officers are resource intensive.

Transport Department officials scrambling to devise new ideas to get drivers to stop looking at their phones are focusing on education programs.

Last year, the department recorded 30 fatalities to the end of November that were the result of crashes involving driver distraction, up from eight in 2012.

Driver distraction is one of the five leading causes of death and injury on Queensland roads.

“Distracted drivers are a danger not only to themselves and their passengers but to other road users as well,” the spokeswoman said.

Almost 33,000 driver distraction offences were recorded in 2013, with about 28,000 involving phones.

The figures plunged to 19,650 in total last year, with 16,563 involving phones.

A 2017 campaign targeting drivers aged 18 to 29 through social media and YouTube reached almost four million people and is expected to be rolled out to a broader audience this year.