Many drivers use mobile phones, texting, shuffling iPods. How can police detect this through tinted windows?

YOUNG drivers are putting lives at risk by talking on mobile phones, texting, shuffling iPods - even surfing the internet - behind the wheel.





A survey of 2400 Australians by insurance company AAMI found a disturbing number of drivers aged 18 to 24 regularly engaged in this illegal and potentially deadly behaviour.





Three quarters of new motorists admitted to reading or sending a text message while on the road, compared to just one third of drivers aged over 25.





And a quarter of drivers under 24 - already twice as likely to have a fatal accident - admitted being "distracted" by MP3 players, compared to just 7 per cent among drivers aged over 25.





"They're pretty startling statistics," AAMI public affairs manager Geoff Hughes said.





"Clearly, when you're looking at the screen you're not looking at the road.





"And if you're speeding as well, you're more likely to get yourself in a situation you don't want to be in."





Mr Hughes urged parents of young drivers to lead by example - not to rely on the "do as I say, not as I do" approach.





"Parents should take note of their own behaviour," he said.





"If they're driving around with a phone welded to the left ear, they might think about that before they do it.





"Clearly, when they're teaching their kids to drive they need to inculcate that texting while you're driving, shuffling your iPod or surfing the net is not the way to go."





The survey confirmed a recent report in The Daily Telegraph that fines for illegal mobile phone use had tripled in the past five years.





It also suggested young drivers were not being put off by the steep $238 penalty if they are caught.





NSW traffic services commander Chief Superintendent John Hartley said communication-obsessed younger drivers risked losing their licence as well as their lives.





"NSW police have been targeting drivers using hand-held mobile phones, in particular P1 provisional holders, who cannot use any sort of mobile phone in the vehicle," he said.





"Since the law was introduced in June, close to 1000 P1 provisional licence holders have been caught using mobile phones.





"They are at risk of losing their licence with this offence."





Catherine Alston, 22, from Glebe, said she only chatted on the road using hands-free, but said drivers of all ages were guilty of driving and dialling.





"I don't think it's a problem with young people only," she said.





"You see people of all ages doing it. Lots of tradies do it."

Many drivers use mobile phones, texting, shuffling iPods. How can police detect this through tinted windows?
old fuzz - the only problem with this mentality is what about the innocent wife and three kids who get creamed by this idiot? We need EXTREME penalties for people who don't want to devote 100% of their attention to the act of driving. I bet if cars were impounded, people would be a lot less inclined to txt while driving.
Reply:Well, tinted windshields are illegal too.
Reply:they need to invent a detector that can sense phone waves.





like normal people can detect nasty radar gunners.





come on, science!
Reply:who knows how they know! they just do!
Reply:If I could see that someone is driving erratically, I would pull them over to investigate.


They can be cited for negligence and/or inattention, unsafe operation of a motor vehicle, and several other vehicle code violations.
Reply:Mostly what is being done is to wait until the dummy has a traffic accident. The we can look through the broken window and see the device impaling the head.