❓ Ms. Rowe questions the Minister for Police on the effectiveness and comparative nature of the McGowan government's new penalties for mobile phone use while driving. The Minister responds by highlighting the dangers of distracted driving and detailing the increased penalties and double demerit system in WA.
AnsweredQoN 25Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DRIVERS — MOBILE PHONES — PENALTIES
25. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to making our roads safer.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how this government's tough new penalties
for drivers using a mobile phone will help tackle dangerous, distracted driving
on our roads?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how these penalties compare with those in the rest of
the country?
25. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for Police:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to making our roads safer.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how this government's tough new penalties
for drivers using a mobile phone will help tackle dangerous, distracted driving
on our roads?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how these penalties compare with those in the rest of
the country?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Belmont for
her question and for her commitment to road safety.
(1)–(2) The fact of the matter is that national research
indicates that distraction is a factor in at least 16 per cent of road crashes.
Here in Western Australia, we believe that distraction was a factor in at least
31 fatalities last year. Chief amongst those factors that can distract people
are mobile phones. I know that whenever one of the TV channels shows vision
that perhaps a passenger in another vehicle has taken of somebody texting,
emailing or doing some of Facebook thing or whatever else on their phone whilst
they are driving—sometimes we are shown vision of people in 100 and 110
kilometres-an-hour zones texting—I am inundated with calls and
correspondence from members of the public. We also know that if someone is not
looking at the road for just two
seconds in a 60 kilometres-an-hour zone, they will travel over 30 metres. If
someone does not look at the road for two seconds in a 100 kays zone, they can
travel over 50 metres. Think about it—it is the length of a swimming
pool. It is a long distance to travel, and whilst they are travelling that
distance, there could be a pedestrian or a cyclist that they do not see in
their peripheral vision. In fact, they do not see that their car has travelled
50 metres in those higher speed zones or 30 metres in a lower speed zone. So,
mobile phone use is a major problem. Most of us know anecdotally from looking
around each day, especially if we are the passenger in a vehicle, that people
are on their mobile phones very frequently. I would be surprised if anyone in
this chamber has not sat behind someone at traffic lights who has been slow to
move off and you can see them looking down at their mobile phone. It is a real
problem. It is a significant factor.
That is why we have moved to up the penalties. For a basic infringement, we are
upping the penalty by $100 to $500. We are introducing a new penalty, based on
what has already been implemented in the Australian Capital Territory, for
people who are doing those higher level distractions—things that take
their eyes off the road. People cannot have their eyes on both the road and a phone
while doing a text or an email or something like that. We believe that that
should be in a similar category to careless or reckless driving, and that is
why we are putting in this tough $1 000 penalty and upping the points that
people get from three points to four points for that level of offence. We are
also mindful of the fact that we have a double-demerits regime here in Western Australia
for mobile phones. Not all states have that. Over half the states have double
demerits, but amongst those, not all of them have double demerits for mobile
phone use. Indeed, when we introduced double
demerits here in Western Australia, we put it in place for restraints ,
seat belts, speed, alcohol and drugs. Added later was mobile phone use, so we
do have that. People who are charged with that higher level of offence during
double demerit periods will lose 10 points; they will just about lose their
licence in one shot. This is a much tougher approach. I do not make any apology
for it. It does not necessarily cost the life of the person who is doing it,
but it could cost the life of someone else. Somebody texting while driving
kills the cyclist, kills the pedestrian or kills someone loved by many people
in the community. That is why we are doing it. It is about driving our road
toll down. It is about having our roads made safer for all individuals.
her question and for her commitment to road safety.
(1)–(2) The fact of the matter is that national research
indicates that distraction is a factor in at least 16 per cent of road crashes.
Here in Western Australia, we believe that distraction was a factor in at least
31 fatalities last year. Chief amongst those factors that can distract people
are mobile phones. I know that whenever one of the TV channels shows vision
that perhaps a passenger in another vehicle has taken of somebody texting,
emailing or doing some of Facebook thing or whatever else on their phone whilst
they are driving—sometimes we are shown vision of people in 100 and 110
kilometres-an-hour zones texting—I am inundated with calls and
correspondence from members of the public. We also know that if someone is not
looking at the road for just two
seconds in a 60 kilometres-an-hour zone, they will travel over 30 metres. If
someone does not look at the road for two seconds in a 100 kays zone, they can
travel over 50 metres. Think about it—it is the length of a swimming
pool. It is a long distance to travel, and whilst they are travelling that
distance, there could be a pedestrian or a cyclist that they do not see in
their peripheral vision. In fact, they do not see that their car has travelled
50 metres in those higher speed zones or 30 metres in a lower speed zone. So,
mobile phone use is a major problem. Most of us know anecdotally from looking
around each day, especially if we are the passenger in a vehicle, that people
are on their mobile phones very frequently. I would be surprised if anyone in
this chamber has not sat behind someone at traffic lights who has been slow to
move off and you can see them looking down at their mobile phone. It is a real
problem. It is a significant factor.
That is why we have moved to up the penalties. For a basic infringement, we are
upping the penalty by $100 to $500. We are introducing a new penalty, based on
what has already been implemented in the Australian Capital Territory, for
people who are doing those higher level distractions—things that take
their eyes off the road. People cannot have their eyes on both the road and a phone
while doing a text or an email or something like that. We believe that that
should be in a similar category to careless or reckless driving, and that is
why we are putting in this tough $1 000 penalty and upping the points that
people get from three points to four points for that level of offence. We are
also mindful of the fact that we have a double-demerits regime here in Western Australia
for mobile phones. Not all states have that. Over half the states have double
demerits, but amongst those, not all of them have double demerits for mobile
phone use. Indeed, when we introduced double
demerits here in Western Australia, we put it in place for restraints ,
seat belts, speed, alcohol and drugs. Added later was mobile phone use, so we
do have that. People who are charged with that higher level of offence during
double demerit periods will lose 10 points; they will just about lose their
licence in one shot. This is a much tougher approach. I do not make any apology
for it. It does not necessarily cost the life of the person who is doing it,
but it could cost the life of someone else. Somebody texting while driving
kills the cyclist, kills the pedestrian or kills someone loved by many people
in the community. That is why we are doing it. It is about driving our road
toll down. It is about having our roads made safer for all individuals.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.