Mobile Phone Laws In NSW

Do you know the mobile phone laws in NSW? Mobile phones have become an indispensable part of our lives, but when it comes to driving, they can also be a lethal distraction. In NSW, strict laws regulate the use of mobile phones while driving to ensure everybodys safety. At Learn Drive Survive® Driving School, we emphasise the importance of adhering to these laws and provide comprehensive education and training. This is done through professional driving lessons and the NSW Safer Drivers Course, to instill responsible driving habits.

With an increasing number of young Australians getting their drivers licence, it is important for parents to know the mobile phone laws in NSW and regulations for learners and provisional licence holders (P Platers) in NSW.

Despite significant improvements in road safety in recent years, the number of crashes involving young people is still unacceptably high in many states and territories. The use of mobile phones while driving remains a major contributing factor to this statistic. According to the Centre for Road Safety, distracted driving contributes to close to 10% of all road crashes. Of these, 4% involve the use of mobile phones. In NSW alone, there have been 202 casualty crashes involving a driver/rider using a mobile phone from 2012 to 2020, which has resulted in 18 deaths and 271 injuries

Not only in NSW, but all other states and territories, both learners and P Platers are required to comply with mobile phone laws while driving. These laws apply whether you’re using a mobile phone for a phone call, to text, or for any other purpose.

Know the Mobile Phone Laws in NSW

Just like other states and territories in Australia, in NSW, it’s illegal to use a mobile phone while driving unless your car is parked and out of the line of traffic. As a fully licenced driver, if you need to use your phone, it must secured in a cradle and be hands-free or operated with voice activation. It’s illegal to hold and use your phone while stationary in a line of traffic or stopped at traffic lights. Learner drivers, P1 licence holders (red P-plates), and P2 licence holders (green P-plates) are not allowed to use a mobile phone at all while driving.

Learner, P1 and P2 Drivers

Fully Licenced Drivers

Mobile Phone Laws – Penalty for Illegal Phone Use When Driving

These fines and demerit point penalties apply to both camera-detected offences and infringements. If detected in a school zone, penalties may increase. Fines and demerit points can be doubled during holiday periods. The information in this document is intended as a guide only, and is subject to change at any time without notice. It does not replace the relevant legislation. 

The Consequences of Distraction

Effective scanning and observation skills are key to being a safe driver. But when you take your eyes off the road to glance at your phone, you would be surprised just how far your vehicle can travel. If you’re travelling at 60km/h and you look at your phone for only two (2) seconds, you will travel 33 metres which is essentially driving blind. So if you’re travelling at 100km/h, in just two (2) seconds, you would travel for a distance of 55 metres! Imagine now that you’re looking at your phone for that distance. That’s a lot of road and hazards to miss. That’s also more than the length of an olympic swimming pool, and plenty of time for a child to step onto the road, or for the car in front to brake suddenly.

Knowing Right From Wrong 

There’s no doubt about it that educating drivers on the dangers is paramount. But let’s be completly honest here. There are awareness campaigns everywhere that highlight the dangers of using your mobile phone while driving and have been for years. There’s campaigns about speeding, drink driving etc but at the end of the day, the decision rests with you.

As teenagers and especially as adults, we all know right from wrong but it’s about choice and consequence. Every choice you make will inevitably have some kind of consequence. Driving while using your phone, exceeding the speed limit or drink driving. We know it’s wrong. We know it’s illegal. But people still choose to do it. This is why it’s so important to be conscious of the decisions you make and you need too accept responsibility for their outcomes. You must develop the emotional and mental strength to identify potential consequences and take ownership of the choices that you make.

Speeding V Mobile Phones

Regardless of mobile phone laws, both speeding and mobile phone use in NSW and across Australia, are two of the leading factors to crashes and both present unique challenges to road safety enforcement and driver education. In NSW alone, speeding is the single biggest contributor to injury and death. Each year, speeding contributes to about 24% of serious injuries and about 41% of road fatalities in NSW. 1141 people are seriously injured and almost 135 lives are lost.

From 2017-2021, there were 109 casualty crashes involving a driver/rider using a handheld mobile phone, resulting in 13 deaths and 163 injuries in NSW. Although speeding may seem more immediately perilous due to the sheer force of high-speed impacts, the risk associated with mobile phone use is equally concerning and often more insidious because it involves both a physical and cognitive distraction.

While speeding can dramatically reduce the time a driver has to react to sudden changes in road conditions or hazards, mobile phone use can completely divert a driver’s attention from the road. The risk multiplies as the speed increases or if the driver engages more deeply with their phone, for instance, by texting or browsing social media.

Across Australia, these behaviours are targeted by stringent laws and high-visibility enforcement campaigns. However, the challenge remains in changing driver attitudes and encouraging responsible driving practices. Speeding is often the result of impatience or deliberate risk-taking, while mobile phone use is typically linked to the modern compulsion to stay connected at all times.

So What’s the Solution to Keeping Off Our Phones?

Although there are tough mobile phone laws in NSW, there are many suggestions for keeping off your phone while driving but are they really necessary? Here are a number of suggestions to help avoid using your phone while driving.

• For prevention, it’s advisable to turn on the ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving’ feature available on most smartphones
• Set your phone to airplane mode while driving. This disables incoming notifications, calls, and messages that could tempt a driver to look away from the road.
• Another effective measure is to use technology to our advantage. Bluetooth headsets or in-car systems allow for hands-free operation, which is legally permissible in NSW for fully licensed drivers, but not for learners or provisional licence holders. However, it’s essential to remember that even hands-free usage can distract cognitively.
• Switch it off to remove any temptation
• Put it in the boot so that it is completely out of reach
• Set it to silent and place it in a bag or glove box
• Simply divert all calls to voicemail

Additionally, planning is crucial. If you rely on your phone for navigation (full licence holders only), set up your GPS route before starting your drive, and if you need to change the route or answer a call, pull over safely before doing so.

Keep Your Phone In Reach

All of these suggestions sound great in hindsight but could they do more harm than good? As a professional driving instructor and former NSW Police Officer, let me provide you with a couple of scenarios whilst keeping in mind our current mobile phone laws.

Scenario 1

Imagine your teenage son or daughter is driving home from work, a party or just a friends place. It’s night time and the roads are quite. They’re suddenly being manaced by a vehicle full of intoxicated occupants and they’re scared and intimidated by their actions.

They can’t call you or the police for help because they did what you told them to do – put their phone in the boot or turned it off. However, if they’re phone was in reach, they could have called for help.

Scenario 2

Imagine one of your children, close friend or even you are travelling in a rural or secluded location. For one reason or another, you lose control and go down an embankment. You’re alive but the impact with a tree at the bottom has caused you to be trapped by the legs and your vehicle can’t be seen from the road. You, they, can’t call for help because the phone is locked in the boot or in the glove box which you can’t reach.

Your Mobile Phone Can Save Your Life

Your phone can save your life or it can take your life. But part of being a responsible and safe driver, is by always adhering to low risk driving techniques When driving a vehicle it’s simple, don’t touch your phone unless you are parked and out of the line of traffic. The most crucial factor is individual driver responsibility and the choices each person makes behind the wheel. As drivers, we have a duty to ourselves, our passengers, and other road users.

Ultimately, both speeding and mobile phone use while driving are preventable behaviours. As drivers in NSW and across Australia, we have the opportunity to make decisions that not only keep ourselves safe but also protect our fellow road users. It is essential to remember that every time we get behind the wheel, we hold the lives of others in our hands – quite literally when it comes to our mobile phones.

Safer Drivers Course

For learner drivers in NSW, encouraging a behavioural change starts with leading by example and supporting initiatives such as the NSW Safer Drivers Course, which educates young drivers on safe driving practices.

To book a Safe Driver Course, simply click here and select your preferred location. Choose a suitable date and complete the registration. Alternatively, you can call 1800 898 969 to assist you in booking a course.