WE SEE IT ON OUR ROADS every day … people on their mobile phones while diving, glancing down to read text messages or, even worse, send one. And despite all the warnings and increasingly onerous penalties, nothing seems to break us of the habit.
According to a review carried out by the Australian Road Research Board, distracted driving has been found to be at least as dangerous as drink driving.
A glance off the road for more than two seconds can increase the likelihood of being involved in a crash, the ARRB found in a review commissioned by the National Transport Commission.
The NTC has identified that current Australian road rules simply have not kept pace with technology – hardly a surprising finding for drivers who have to obey road rules that are increasingly out of touch.
As a result, many find it confusing to identify what behaviour and devices are legal or illegal when driving. Consequently, the NTC has released a consultation regulation impact statement (RIS) seeking feedback on technology-neutral options to regulate driver distraction.
The review, prepared by Rachel Goodsell, Mitch Cunningham and Dr Ann Chevalier of the ARRB shows distraction is seen as a significant road safety risk that is not as well understood as other risk factors such as drink-driving and speeding. Again, hardly surprising since authorities constantly focus on these two factors, almost to the exclusion of any others.
NTC CEO Gilliam Miles said that new technology-related distractions, outdated rules and a general lack of understanding from road users present significant challenges.
“Drivers engage in non-driving activities every 96 seconds while behind the wheel,” she said. “Distractions take our concentration off the road which means we may not have time to react to hazards.”
“We are proposing four options for consideration. The views of a broad range of stakeholders are crucial to guide any policy reform to deal with driver distraction.”
ARRB reviewed the best international research currently available on driver distraction. This work supports the NTC’s efforts in stimulating discussions about driver distraction research, policy and legislative reform options.
Key Driver Distraction Findings:
- Engaging in secondary tasks which take a driver’s eyes off the road are considered to be particularly hazardous, doubling crash risk if the driver glances away from the forward roadway for more than two seconds.
- Driver distraction is a factor in more than 16 percent of serious crashes on Australian roads
- Drivers engage in a non-driving activity every 96 seconds
- Despite knowing that distracting activities is prohibited by road rules, a significant number of drivers continue to engage in them
- Using a mobile phone while driving can be as profound as driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent
- 79 percent of drivers agree that talking on a mobile phone while driving increases the risk of being involved in a crash
- 21 percent of drivers admitted that they use their phones for non-driving activities such as internet browsing, texting, taking photos or using applications
- The three most common type of driver distraction are manual distraction, visual distraction and cognitive distraction.
The NTC identified problems with outdated road rules, the emergence of new sources of distraction and a lack of clarity in the road rules about unlawful driver behaviours.
The NTC will deliver a decision regulation impact statement for consideration by transport ministers in May 2020.