Melbourne Residents Still Using Mobile Phones While Driving

The number of drivers at risk from handheld mobile phone use while driving in Melbourne has remained unchanged between 2002 and 2006, according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia. The study, conducted by Associate Professor David Taylor, Austin Health's Director of Emergency and General Medicine Research, and colleagues, recorded the mobile phone use of 20,207 drivers at 12 sites on three consecutive Tuesdays.

A/Prof Taylor says that working in a hospital emergency department compelled him to conduct this research.

"The nature of the hospital environment means we tend to respond to public health issues in the acute setting. However, it may be difficult to collect data if people do not admit that they were injured as a result of illegally using their mobile phone while driving.

"Having conducted this research outside of the hospital, we hope it will contribute to further preventative measures aimed at keeping people out of the hospital and safer on the roads," he said.

The unchanged rate of mobile phone use while driving comes despite penalties and legislation designed to reduce usage. However, A/Prof Taylor says the study's results may be a reflection of higher mobile phone ownership.

"Over eight million mobile phone handsets were sold in Australia in 2005, more than double the figure in 2002.

"It is possible, therefore, that the opportunity for mobile use was increased in 2006 and that preventative initiatives have been more successful than our figures suggest," A/Prof Taylor said.

The study also found that more men used their handheld mobile while driving than women, which is consistent with the results of the 2002 study.

However, the study identified a shift in the time of day of mobile use while driving; drivers used their handheld mobiles more in the morning than in the evening, whereas in 2002, the reverse was the case.

"These changes may be the result of a change of the nature of the calls being made - for example, more business calls in the morning," A/Prof Taylor said.

A/Prof Taylor said that while increased enforcement and media campaigns to raise drivers' awareness have been implemented in Victoria, more can be done to change the habits of drivers.

"Handheld mobile phone use by Melbourne drivers remains a preventable risk behaviour for the city's road users and deserves further investigation.

"We recommend research into prevention and deterrence, and into reasons for continuing handheld mobile use while driving," he said.

A/Prof Taylor maintains that Melbourne's figures are promising when compared with the figures of other cities around the world.

"The rate of handheld mobile use while driving is encouraging when compared with a United States study that reported an increase in mobile use by drivers from 2.7 per cent to 5.8 per cent over 4 years in Michigan, where no restrictions on mobile use while driving exist," he said.

Posted to the site on 15th October 2007