Drug testing and mobile phone distraction research will be undertaken in Australia with the aim of better understanding the impact of these two factors on road safety.
The research will help governments find new ways to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on the nation’s roads, infrastructure and transport minister Darren Chester says.
“I have serious concerns about drug use while driving, and people being distracted by their mobile phones,” Chester says.
“I recently met with state and territory road safety ministers and senior police, and there was widespread agreement that both drug-driving and mobile phone use while driving were priority areas to address.”
Chester says the research into roadside drug testing methods will consider options to enable more roadside testing, at a lower cost to governments.
“This research will include reviewing current practices, looking at the most effective drug testing regimes and investigating the impediments to a more effective and efficient drug-testing regime,” he says,
“We are more connected to technology than ever before, and this is problematic for drivers and road safety.
“This research initiative will look at a range of issues related to the use of mobile phones while driving, including current regulatory and enforcement practices in Australia.”
The research includes reviewing data on the contribution of mobile phone and device distraction to fatal and serious injury crashes in Australia, looking at current approaches to addressing the risk of mobile phone and device use while driving, studying regulatory and enforcement practices in Australia, and considering approaches to help road users to reduce the risk of mobile phone use.
Visit www.roadsafety.gov.aus for more.
