By YASEMIN TALAT
BRIMBANK has had one of the highest number of drivers caught using their mobile phone while behind the wheel, with more than 1000 drivers booked last financial year.
Victoria Police statistics reveal that 1347 penalty notices were issued to drivers in Brimbank caught using a hand held mobile phone while driving across the 2012-13 financial period.
The results were a slight improvement from the 2011/12 period when 1653 drivers were issued with a penalty notice for the same offence.
In addition, a staggering 22 Learner drivers or P1 probationary licence holders were caught using any mobile phone in Brimbank during 2012/13 period.
This is an increase from the 17 offences recorded for that age group in 2011/12.
The results come as police wrap up their festive blitz Operation Break Up which targeted distracted drivers as part of the Summer Stay road enforcement campaign.
The operation targeted the fatal five road user behaviours: speed, impairment, distraction, fatigue and seat belts.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said he made no apology for penalising drivers doing the wrong thing, adding that the use of mobile phones was the current biggest driver distraction issue.
“The recent increase in the penalty for the use of a mobile phone while driving is reflective of the danger it creates,” he said.
“Our intelligence informs us that drivers up to the age of 24 have the highest frequency of fatal and serious collisions where driver distraction is involved,” Mr Hill said.
But they were not the only age group distracted by technology when behind the wheel, he said.
Mr Hill said phone calls, text messages, setting GPS destinations and skipping CD tracks could all be deadly driver distractions.
“Driving is a complex task and requires full concentration,” he said.
“Any distraction can impair a driver’s reaction time, ability to maintain speed and position on the road and general awareness of other road users,” he said.
“Taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds when driving at 40km/h means you are effectively travelling blind for 22 metres.”
Five lives were lost on Victorian roads during the official Christmas road toll period, which was recorded from 23 December 2013 to 3 January 2014.
The fatalities include the death of a St Albans man who died in hospital on New Year’s Eve following a single vehicle crash in Rockbank on Christmas night.
And on 29 December a 32-year-old Maribyrnong motorcyclist died after his motorcycle collided with a car on Whitehall Street in Footscray.
“Every death on our roads is a tragedy and something we believe is avoidable,” Mr Hill said.
“I urge all road users to turn off the distractions and switch on when you are on the roads.”
