Watch out: Police to crack down on new trend in 2025

It's already heavily enforced in some states and chances are you've already done it.

By now, it’s common sense not to use your phone while driving.

There are so many different ways to avoid it - like using voice controls or a mount - and if you don’t, it could set you back over $1000 in fines, depending on your state.

But, now that we’ve officially rolled into 2025, there’s a new trend police will be cracking down on, and it’s on something you probably use every day.

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Keep your hands on the wheel

Following the announcement that mobile phone detections in the state are on the decline, South Australian Superintendent Shane Johnson said that his team are ready to move on to the next dangerous device - smart watches.

"Smart watches can be a form of distraction and legislation is being looked at for 2025," he said in a press conference earlier this week.

"Our message is if it's distracting you while driving you shouldn't be looking at your smart watch."

The laws against smart watches

Whilst there are no specific laws enforced yet, South Australia wouldn’t be the first state to implement them if the decision was made to do so.

In New South Wales, it is illegal to drive with a digital screen on if you can see it, or it could distract another driver, unless you're using it as a ‘driver's aid’.

However, it is most heavily enforced in Victoria, where a significant and clear movement against smart watches has been made.

There, you are not able to touch or use any form of mobile or wearable device (like a smart watch) whilst driving, unless you’d like to spend a few hundred dollars on fines.

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Has it gone too far?

However, the response in Victoria has not been overly positive, with worries now that this mindset will spread across the country.

A 2024 Instagram post from Victoria Police, detailed the laws against smart watch use.

“Wearable devices such as smart watches and smart glasses create a serious distraction when you’re behind the wheel,” the post said.

“Like mobile phones, using such devices while driving is illegal in Victoria.

“If you’re someone that must be contactable when on the go:

“✋ make sure the hands-free function is set up and working before you start driving

“⏱️ keep conversations short

“🚗 explain to your caller that you are driving and arrange a better time to speak with them

“❌ end the call if the call is distracting you from driving.”

However, the response was extremely mixed.

Whilst some commenters agreed that distractions like this should be minimised, others said it was no different to in-built systems which are so common in modern cars.

“Then why have we legalised huge big touch screens in cars that we can scroll music on, touch screen scroll to find what song we want and apps for our phones on them… I don’t get it,” one commenter said.

“in car entertainment systems are completely fine though,” said another.

Originally published as Watch out: Police to crack down on new trend in 2025