Cameras in NSW will detect and penalise Aussie drivers on phones. Should NZ do the same?

Thursday, 3 May 2018

Should NZ follow Australia and crack down on mobile phones in cars?

If cameras could detect you using your cellphone while driving, would you still risk sending that quick text or scrolling through your music playlist?

Speed-camera-style technology will soon be able to detect and penalise people using cellphones while driving in the Australian state of New South Wales. Should New Zealand also look to enforce stricter cellphone rules on the road?

One in six Kiwi drivers think it is OK to use a cellphone while stopped at traffic lights, according to a Neighbourly poll. More than 3900 people took part in the poll, 16.9 per cent of whom said they used their device at the lights and another 8.2 per cent said they used their mobiles while driving.

In the 12 months to June, 2017, 27,681 people were caught using cellphones while driving in New Zealand.

* Cellphone ban failing in sight of the law

* New Zealand's road toll on track for highest total in years

* Call to penalise drivers harder for using cellphones while driving as road toll soars**

DANGERS OF PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING

As the number of people caught using cellphones while driving soars, so does the road toll.

Police figures show that from January 2010 to June 2017, 134,908 people were pulled over for mobile phone offences. Fines for offences totalled $10,624,103.

There were 327 road deaths in 2016, 379 in 2017, and 386 in the 12 months to May 5, 2018.

COULD THESE CAMERAS COME TO NZ?

New Zealand Automobile Association (AA) general manager of motoring affairs Mike Noon said the AA was not aware of any technology that would successfully scan for illegal cellphone use by drivers being considered by New Zealand authorities.

'But we would support technology like this when it becomes available. Current policing of cellphone use by drivers is limited and difficult, and the public knows the risk of getting caught is low,' he said.

'The AA believes there is a considerable amount of illegal cellphone use by drivers in New Zealand. Often it is quite blatant too – such as drivers holding phones to their ears at intersections. Official statistics estimate that distracted drivers - which includes use of cellphones but other in-car distractions too - are a contributing factor in around 12 per cent of crashes, but we suspect this figure doesn't represent the full reality. Police say they often cannot determine for sure whether cellphone use was a factor in a crash.'

Inspector Peter McKennie, road policing national operations manager, said police had noted that NSW would be the first territory in the world to introduce cameras that detect phone use in motor vehicles.

'Police stay abreast with technological developments. This is new technology and we will monitor progress of its use,' he said.

Road safety critic and car review website Dog and Lemon Guide's editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said the system would be too complex and too expensive to implement in New Zealand.

'The problem of drivers using cellphones is a nationwide problem. To be effective, there would need to be widespread coverage of these cameras, including rural areas. This would be a logistical nightmare.'

He said basic research showed that fines and disqualification threats were ineffective deterrents for high-risk offenders.

Instead, police should have the power to confiscate the cellphones of any drivers using them in a moving vehicle, he suggested.

'For the first offence, you lose your cellphone. For the next offence, you lose your cellphone and your phone number as well. For the third offence, you lose the cellphone, your number and your car for seven days. I guarantee this will dramatically change the behaviour of drivers at a fraction of the cost of the NSW system.'

New Zealand's ban on cellphones while driving had not been effective, he said.

'This is partly because the ban is rarely enforced, but also because smartphones are designed to be addictive. So drivers willingly risk their lives to get their next pleasure hit from their phone.

'The easiest way to stop this addictive behaviour by drivers is to take the phone away. That will hurt both financially and physically; if a driver's cellphone gets confiscated by police, his or her entire online world will suddenly halt. That's a powerful incentive not to offend again.'

AA surveys showed 89 per cent of AA members supported more red light cameras, Noon said.

'We would anticipate that they would also support technology that detects illegal mobile phone use by drivers,' he said.

In France, it is no longer sufficient to pull over to the side of the road to use a cellphone while driving. Should drivers need to use a phone they must park in a designated parking spot and turn off the engine.

The AA said in February this was likely a strategic move to lower France's rising road toll, which totalled almost 3500 in 2016.

CELLPHONE DRIVING BAN

Under the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004, it is illegal to use a hand-held cellphone to:

* Make, receive or terminate phone calls

* Create, send or read texts or emails

* Create, send or view video messages

* Communicate in any other way

Breaching the ban incurs an $80 fine and 20 demerit points.

Drivers can use a cellphone to make a call while driving only if it is an emergency situation and unsafe or impracticable to stop the vehicle to make the call.