South Australia Police have condemned the behaviour of drivers who were distracted behind the wheel in a 24 hour, nationwide crack down on distracted driving.
The National Day of Action which ran for 24 hours on Wednesday 18 May focused on police educating and expiating motorists for distraction offences. During the operation, 131 drivers were caught committing various distraction offences.
Superintendent Bob Gray, Officer in Charge Traffic Services Branch said drivers in South Australia and across the country need to understand just how dangerous it is to focus on anything other than driving when they're behind the wheel.
"Police will not rest until we get the message through to both metropolitan and regional drivers - if you allow yourself to be distracted whilst driving, you're risking death or serious injury, not just for yourself but for other innocent road users."
South Australian data reveals the following:
- 'Distraction' is the highest fatal five contributory factor for both lives lost and serious injuries in South Australia and has been on a steep trend increase since 2017.
- For the five year period 2017-2021, 247 (51%) lives lost and 1,330 (34%) serious injuries had distraction listed as a contributing factor for the crash.
- 69% of distraction related lives lost and 53% of distraction related serious injury crashes occurred on South Australian rural or regional roads.
- Fatal five contributing factors are not exclusive and more than one fatal five category may be attributed to a crash. However, it has been noted that 'Distraction' is the category that is most likely to have no other fatal five category listed as a contributing factor.
