Mobile Phones
The information contained in this health and safety topic has been sourced from the Office of Road
Safety in Western Australia. On March 1st 2011 new laws were introduced in Western Australia regarding the use of mobile phones and visual display units in cars. A national road safety strategy report conducted by the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure and Transport has recommended banning the use of mobile phones in cars altogether. This is currently being considered by the transport ministers in each state & territory. It is anticipated that as a minimum that other states will follow the lead of Western Australia and tighten their laws regarding the use of mobile phones.

Changes to the Law in Western Australia
A mobile phone may only be used by the driver of a motor vehicle to make or receive a phone call while driving if the phone is either:
· secured in a mounting affixed to the vehicle; or
· if not secured, can be operated without touching it.

It will be an offence to create, send or look at a text message, video message, email or similar communication while driving. The GPS function of a mobile phone may be used by a driver while driving as long as the phone is secured in a mounting, and the driver does not need to touch thephone (including the keypad or screen) at any time.
Penalty: Three demerit points and a $250 fine.

Visual Display Units.
A visual display unit (e.g. a GPS unit or other navigational device) must either be:
· an integrated part of the vehicle design; or
· secured in a mounting affixed to the vehicle while it is being used.

If it is secured in a mounting, the mounting must be commercially designed and manufactured for that
purpose and attached to the vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Penalty: Three demerit points and a $100 fine.

General Information on Use of Mobile Phones in Cars
Mobile phone usage has increased dramatically in the past decade. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that in 1996 only 24.1% of households had a mobile phone. By 2002 this was 72% and it is now close to 99%.
The use of a mobile phone while driving increases the risk of being involved in a crash by up to 4 times.
Using a hand-held mobile phone while driving has been illegal in Western Australia since 2001, but it is still legal to use a hands-free model.

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[S]kid[S]

Thanks for the info, I'm even more confused now LOL!

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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Yes baby, I could be in the shed for a while!

So a device that may need an input from the user, e.g. entering an address, will now attract a fine?

Yet for a normal GPS, you can play around with the unit as much as you like whilst driving?

^^ Can't help but agree with that!

I'm actually concerned about touching my ECUDatascan unit when driving (actually meant when the car is at a stop, but still running, e.g. stationary at an intersection) as I like to change dashboards from time to time.

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2015 Forester XT Premium
2020 VW Tiguan Allspace
teejay: If I wanted a comeback Id wank in front of a fan

FFS, well that is as clear as mud....legislation of fail...no doubt grandpa Johnson was involved in this.

ps...90% of statistics quoted are made up

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Funny looking German Subaru

I dont find this legislation that bad. Essentially I guess they wanted a way to make using GPS on your phone legal, but without giving everyone the ability to send text messages and say they were using their GPS. Built in GPS units dont have text messaging, so I would hazard a guess thats why they are listed seperately.

If you answer a call on a mounted phone its a single button press, so its unlikely to get mistaken for texting. If your swiping away at a text message or entering an address while driving, expect to pay the price Its fair enough, sending text messages or browsing the web on your phone while you drive is distracting.

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[S]kid[S]

Basically, don't touch anything in your car - phone, gps etc etc etc unless it's mounted or risk a 3 demerit point fine and a fine between 100 to 250 dollars.

Too many rules. Like everything else these days, just don't get caught.

Saw a bird applying eye liner while driving today. She was doing 70km/h in traffic, no hands on the wheel and face in the redirected rear view mirror. I doubt they have a rule to cover application of cosmetics yet.

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MY00 WRX. 89 Prelude. 99 CRV

^ Quoted for sense!!!

Key the addy into satnav before you leave home/departure point, and, in my instance anyway, I use a bluetooth thing for my phone (thanks DakDakk ), that pairs automatically, tells me whos ringing verbally, then after the beep, I say "ok" and the call connects. Dont need to touch or look at the i4.

The technology is all there people...

Brent.

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* [REXPLOIT] - EJ207 2.2L build. Under assembly:
* All Sling - No Bling: Member 002:
* WRX Club of WA member / CAMS member / CAMS registered volunteer:

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Totally agree with these laws. The amount of F*cking cabbys that talk on their phone whilst driving, on the same topic they play with those job update devices more than they concentrate driving.

In saying that bluetooth kits have certainly come a long way.

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WGM

You haven't driven a BMW, Merc, Porsche or New commode.....All have SMS via bluetooth native in the nav/radio

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