Aussie drivers at risk of huge fines for distracted driving

A new survey has shown exactly what Australian drivers get up to behind the wheel and the results could lead to huge fines for a lot of drivers.

Aussie drivers are ignoring massive fines and continuing to display poor driving habits.

A new survey by insurance comparison site comparethemarket has confirmed that Australians are driving while distracted.

The research asked 1000 drivers nationwide if they ever committed one of eight tasks behind the wheel that could distract you while driving.

The eight bad driver habits were eating, texting, drinking, looking for an item in the back seat, using apps, wearing headphones, doing hair and makeup and watching videos. More than three-quarters of those surveyed admitted to doing one or more of these acts while behind the wheel.

It would be hard to drive while you eat a bowl of cereal.

Almost a third said they had eaten or drunk behind the wheel, while about 10 per cent said they had searched for an item in the back seat while driving.

Most of these acts could be interpreted by authorities as not having proper control of a vehicle, which in most states comes with a huge fine and the loss of demerit points.

Fines range from $100 and one demerit point in WA to as much as $2500 and three points in South Australia. In Tasmania, it will cost $168, in the ACT it is $297, in Victoria it is $397 and three demerit points. NSW penalties are $457 and three points, while Queenslanders are slugged $533 and three points.

The states are coming down hard on mobile phone use behind the wheel.

Of greater concern is that almost 10 per cent said they had texted or used an app while driving. This number surged to about a quarter of those surveyed who said they had texted while stuck in traffic or at a red light.

Driver distraction and mobile phone use is one of the leading causes of road accidents and fatalities.

The centre for Road Safety says that at 60km/h, if you look at your phone for just two seconds, you travel 33 metres, virtually blind.

This is why the states have responded by making mobile phones use one of the harshest fines in the country.

In Tasmania drivers are hit with a $300 fine and three demerit points, In WA it is $400 and three points, in NSW it is $344 and five points, in ACT it is 480 and three points, in Vic it is $496 and four points, South Australia it is $534 and three points and in Queensland it is a $1000 fine and four demerit points.

In NSW the government has rolled out new mobile phone detection cameras that can catch drivers using their mobile phones while driving. These cameras caught more than 3000 drivers using their phone illegally in the first week.