Drivers picked to sneak back on phones

Governments worldwide are struggling to keep drivers off their cellphones, with the latest research showing bans work as deterrents for as little as a year before phone use picks up again.

In two days, New Zealand drivers will join billions of people in more than 40 countries who have been banned from talking on a handheld cellphone while behind the wheel.

Ontario introduced a ban this week and Philadelphia will begin policing drivers on Sunday.

But even governments with bans already in place have been forced to get more tough as drivers flout the law.

In California, enforcement has received a helping hand from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. His wife, Maria Shriver, was caught on camera driving with a cellphone in hand. Schwarzenegger responded with a public announcement on Twitter: "Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention. There's going to be swift action."

In Britain, the stakes were raised four years after a ban was first enforced, with the threat of jail time and demerit points added to legislation. Having an accident while texting can now be penalised by two years in jail under a dangerous driving charge.

The law change was made in 2007 in response to drivers ignoring rules and continuing to talk on their phones.

The Welsh police have countered with a shock-and-awe television ad showing in gruesome detail a teenage driver killing her friends in a crash because she was texting.

Australia has launched massive police enforcement campaigns, on top of increasing penalties and tightening rules. In a single day in September last year, more than 1000 motorists in New South Wales were caught for illegally using their cellphones.

More than $10 million in fines was collected from almost 40,000 drivers in New South Wales during 2008. This year fines were increased in Queensland and Victoria by up to 50 per cent.

However, a survey carried out for Telstra in April found 15 per cent of parents still used a handheld cellphone while driving with a child in the car.

A study published this month by the United States' Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says laws banning cellphone use have only short-term effects and do not solve road safety issues.

In New York, Washington D.C. and Connecticut, bans on cellphone use achieved a sharp immediate drop in phone use among drivers but effects faded after one year. New York State had the worst statistics, with 64 per cent more drivers on their phones this year than immediately before a ban was introduced in 2001. In Washington D.C. and Connecticut, cellphone use began to bounce back a year after legislation came into force. Although a lack of enforcement was once blamed for the waning effects of a ban, the study suggests this is not the case. New York had the most pronounced resurgence of cellphone use but was catching drivers at least as frequently as other states.

Convincing drivers to stay off their phones is the same as convincing them to wear seatbelts - it requires a vigorous public awareness campaign, the Insurance Institute's study says. The study also suggests hands-free devices dilute any effects of a ban on road safety, as drivers switching to hands-free phones are just as likely to be distracted.

A public education campaign is being carried out in New Zealand alongside the upcoming ban, with billboards and television advertisements warning drivers against distractions.

New Zealand Traffic Institute vice-president John Gottler said experiences overseas showed keeping drivers off their phones would be a challenge, but putting in restrictions was a good first step.

"There are more stringent controls that are possible, but doing things step by step isn't a bad thing."

New Zealand was particularly troubled by texting among teenage drivers, and raising the driving age would help address this issue, he said.

There were also technological ways of forcing drivers to stop texting, but it was better to start with a ban and education campaigns, only tightening controls as they became necessary.

"Young people today are texting lots and lots and lots.

"It's a cultural thing. We have got to make the community take responsibility, but also the government and local authorities, so it isn't just pushing the cost on to someone else."

Transport Ministry safety manager Leo Mortimer said the ministry had looked at overseas examples when drafting rules, and found demerit points would be necessary in addition to fines in order to curb cellphone use.

Japan had been particularly successful, with a 20 per cent reduction in road deaths involving cellphone use.

BAN FACES UPHILL STRUGGLE ON FOREIGN SHORES

CALIFORNIA
Enforcement by the Governator.
January 2009: Handheld cellphone use in cars banned, with fines up to about $70 (US$50) but no demerit points.
October 2009: California first lady Maria Shriver caught for illegal cellphone use. Husband Arnold Schwarzenegger responded on Twitter: "Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention. There's going to be swift action."

NEW YORK
Bans shown to be ineffective.
November 2001: Ban introduced, with fines up to about $140 (US$100) but no demerit points.
March 2002: Cellphone use fell by 52 per cent in first four months of ban.
March 2003: A year later, cellphone use had risen again by 91 per cent, to only 9 per cent below pre-ban levels.
April 2009: Observed cellphone use had risen to 64 per cent higher than it was immediately before the ban was introduced.

BRITAIN
Jail threat introduced as ban flouted.
December 2003: Ban introduced, with fines ranging from about $70 (£30) to $2300 (£1000) if offence goes to court.
December 2007: Jail threat and demerit points added to law because too many people flouted the ban. A dangerous driving charge, with up to two years in jail, is possible for texting while behind the wheel.

AUSTRALIA
Vigorous police enforcement campaigns.
1988: World-first ban introduced in Victoria.
September 2008: More than 1000 motorists caught in one day for illegally using a cellphone during a police campaign in New South Wales.
2008: More than $10 million (A$9.3 million) in fines collected from almost 40,000 drivers in New South Wales over 12 months. Nearly 30,000 drivers were caught flouting ban in Queensland.
January 2009: Fines increased in Queensland.
April 2009: A survey finds 15 per cent of parents still use a handheld cell phone while driving with a child in the car.
May 2009: Fines increased by 50 per cent in Victoria.