In only six weeks, police have reportedly hit 853 drivers with four demerit points each and $1000 fines.

That is the number of penalties police have officially reported from the start of February — when the new penalties came in — to March 13, although the number could change as more reports are collated and drivers attempt to dispute charges.

Senior Sergeant Ian Crang has been a police officer for more than 30 years and is the officer in charge of the Road Policing Taskforce.

He said the new penalties reflected the danger posed by using a mobile phone while driving.

“It has caused numerous injuries and deaths over the years by people being distracted and using mobile phones,” Senior Sergeant Ian Crang said.

“If you’re distracted by that mobile phone, you’re going to cause accidents [and] cause injuries to yourself and to other people.”

Like closing your eyes while driving

The general manager for Safety and Regulation at the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Andrew Mahon, said using a mobile phone while driving was extremely dangerous.

“More than 30 people die on our roads every year due to driver distraction, and 1300 on average are put in hospital with serious injuries,” he said.

“If you look at a text message for two seconds at 60km per hour, you travel 33m blind.

“Imagine closing your eyes for two seconds while you’re driving behind the wheel and the impact that could potentially have if something goes wrong in front of you.”

There are also fines for reading the newspaper, changing clothes and other dangerous tasks while driving.

Crang said people had been busted changing clothes while driving, putting on makeup, and performing other tasks that distract from driving.

“People have been known to read while travelling on the motorways — that could be reading iPads, reading the paper, reading books, [or] people eating while they’re driving,” he said.

Anything that distracted the driver from controlling the car or concentrating could also attract hefty fines.

“We see other types of behaviour on the road that are not acceptable — that could be trying to eat a burger and not having proper control of the vehicle while you’re driving,” Mahon said.

“It might seem harmless, but it can be a dangerous activity.

“If you don’t have proper control of the vehicle, there’s a $311 on-the-spot penalty for that.

“If you’re driving with undue care and attention, it’s a $533 fine on the spot.”

That can be anything deemed to distract the driver from the main task of driving the car.

Police want attitude change to phones

Crang said it was disappointing the 853 people fined had not got the message the new penalties were designed to send.

“I’m hoping that the increase in fines and the increase in penalty points is showing people how serious the Government and the Queensland Police Service are about road safety,” he said.

In response to potential criticism that the fines were “revenue-raising”, Senior Sergeant Crang said the penalties should be a deterrent to people considering using their phone behind the wheel.

“It is a very serious offence and it can cause a great deal of harm to you, your friends, and your family,” he said.

When Crang joined the police service, mobile phones were not an issue. Now he wants people to forget they have one.

“I’d like to see people forget their mobile phones when they the get into a car,”  Crang said.

“Simply put [mobile phones] down, forget about them — if you need to use your mobile phone any stage — pull over, stop.”

– ABC / George Roberts