Drivers must get off their phones now

Alarmingly, 836 motorists would have lost their licences after being caught on four or more occasions with each incident incurring three demerit points.

The figures reveal of the 30,754 warning letters sent out to motorists during the first month of the grace period.  Three drivers were each caught a staggering 19 times, another two on 18 occasions, one on 16 occasions and another four on 15 separate occasions. The total value of fines that would have been issued to those three drivers would have totalled approximately $12,500 each.

Traffic Services Branch Superintendent Darren Fielke said South Australia Police (SAPOL) is disappointed and concerned by this continued pattern of irresponsible behaviour by drivers.

“The cameras recorded at least one distracted motorist driving with their mobile phone less than every two minutes – this shows the extent of the issue relating to distraction we have on our roads,” Superintendent Fielke said.

“Not only is the overall number of detections shocking, but if this was outside of the grace period these motorists would lose their licence,” Superintendent Fielke said.

“We are giving South Australian drivers ample opportunity to change their driver behaviour and stop using a mobile phone while they are driving through this grace period.  Distraction, including mobile phone use, is a significant contributor to crashes of all types on our roads.  Drivers who are not getting the message need to change their driving behaviour very quickly, or they’ll lose their licence, which in some cases could be their livelihood, or worst of all kill themselves or another innocent road user.”

Mobile Phone Detection Cameras are in place across five high-risk locations: South Road (Torrensville), North South Motorway (Regency Park), Port Wakefield Road (Gepps Cross), Southern Expressway (Darlington), and Port Road (Hindmarsh).

• The three lanes on North-South Motorway (Regency Park) provided the highest number of offences with 9,620 drivers receiving warning letters.
• The two lanes on South Road (Torrensville) recorded the highest percentage of potential offences proportionally to the vehicle volume: 0.84 per cent with 6,872 letters sent.
• The three lanes at Port Road (Hindmarsh) had 5,388 drivers receive warning letters.
• The two lanes at Port Wakefield Road (Gepps Cross) had 2,980 drivers receive warning letters.
• The three lanes at Southern Expressway (Darlington) had 6,254 drivers receive warning letters.

From Thursday 19 September 2024, vehicle owners will receive a $556 fine (plus a $102 adult Victims of Crime levy) and three demerit points for the offence recorded by the mobile phone detection cameras (MPDC).

It is frightening to think some drivers are so prolific in their use of mobile phones, which is a deliberate choice, and poses a distinct risk to other road users.