Call to get motorists off the phone
As the road toll jumps, calls are mounting for a review of the punishment handed to motorists who break the driver cellphone ban.
The number of people caught using phones while driving now outnumbers those caught drinkdriving, with 27,681 people flouting the cellphone law in the 12 months to June, compared with 24,858 caught drink-driving.
But the Ministry of Transport says it has no plans to increase the penalty, which stands at an $80 fine and 20 demerit points.
Wellington City Council transport strategy and operations portfolio leader Chris Calvi-Freeman wants the penalties to be doubled, in line with what happened in the UK earlier this year.
‘‘I have a personal feeling that the road toll increase is being significantly affected by the use of cellphones,’’ Calvi-Freeman said.
Up to Friday, 302 people had died on the roads this year, closing in on the 328 for all of last year, with more than two months still to go till the end of 2017.
‘‘My observation when I’m driving, walking or cycling is that so many people are now flicking their eyes up and down to their device that they hold below wheel height,’’ Calvi-Freeman said. ‘‘I’m very fearful as to what this sort of thing is going to do for more vulnerable road users – cyclists and pedestrians.’’
Doubling the penalties would send a stronger signal to motorists about the dangers of using cellphones while driving, he said.
Last week Labour’s transport spokesman, Michael Wood, said the country’s rising road toll was ‘‘horrific’’, and the current road safety strategy was ‘‘patently failing’’. ‘‘We’ll be driven by the evidence for what works, including whether stiffer penalties for driving while distracted would make a difference.’’
Green Party transport spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter said last week the rate of distracted driving needed to come down, and research was required on whether harsher penalties would reduce that.
‘‘It’s pretty clear that we need better enforcement.
‘‘It’s not uncommon to see . . . one in three or one-in-four drivers looking at their phones.’’
She noted the fine in Australia was A$400, while in Canada it was generally C$490. The fine in Britain is now £200.
The New Zealand Transport Agency said drivers were 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash when texting while driving.
Doing so can reduce reaction time and peripheral vision, make it harder to stay in the correct lane, and result in shorter following distances.
Last year, there were 23 fatal crashes and 178 serious injury crashes caused by driver distraction, the agency said.
Road safety director Harry Wilson said drivers’ attention could be diverted by competing events, objects and people.
‘‘That includes using a handsfree mobile device, and our advice is to switch phones off while driving.
‘‘If you’re using the map/GPS function on a device, make sure you enter your destination before you start your journey, or pull over in a safe place to do so if necessary.’’
Ministry mobility and safety manager Brent Johnston said changes to the penalties were not being considered.
That was despite at least 19 deaths and 49 serious injuries being caused by crashes involving cellphone distraction in the five years to 2016, he said.
‘‘This is likely to be underreported as it can be difficult for an attending police officer to detect cellphone use when they attend crashes.’’