Shocking stats as young motorists admit to driving distracted

The data shows more young motorists in regional areas are distracted than those in metro areas, and it was more common among private school students than in state schools.

Almost two thirds of young drivers admit to being distracted while driving, according to new survey by Queensland’s peak motoring body.

RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said the club surveyed Year 12 students across the state as part of its award-winning Docudrama road safety program and found 68% admitted to having been distracted while behind the wheel.

“Distracted driving is the fastest growing problem we have on Queensland roads so it’s very concerning to see this statistic remain as high for the second year in a row,” Ms Ritchie said.

The data comes as Queensland’s records its 100th fatality for 2021, which is 21 fatalities greater than the same period last year.

Of these 100 fatalities 31 have occurred on southern Queensland roads, with 13 more deaths or 72.2% more deaths compared to this time last year – the worst statistics in the state.

The RACQ data shows more students in regional areas admitted to being distracted than those who lived in metro areas, and it’s more common among private school students than in state schools.

“The overwhelming majority of students surveyed told us they believed it was ok to use a mobile phone to play music, to make a loudspeaker call and as a GPS, all behaviours that are illegal for P1 licence holders,” she said.

“Mobile phone use while driving is one of the leading causes of distraction in the car, and we know it only takes a moment of being a distracted driver for a tragedy to unfold.”

Ms Ritchie said distracted drivers were four times more likely to have a crash.

“Young drivers are consistently over represented in our road toll, so add mobile phone distraction to their inexperience, and it’s a crash waiting to happen,” she said

“Distracted driving can be as dangerous as drink driving so it’s really disappointing so many young drivers are putting themselves and others at risk.

“We’re pleading with novice drivers, don’t get into bad habits, put your phone on Do Not Disturb and put it out of sight, so you can focus on driving safely.”