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Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

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Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#141

Post by batiudrami »

wiredone wrote: post #101
Sendotsh wrote: post #89

Good. People in Australia don't take driving seriously. I spend a lot of time on the road, and have lived all over Australia, and the one defining thing I've found in common all over the country is that people are WAY too casual about driving. Sydney and Melbourne being the worst by far, with it being so bad it has become entertainment[0] On any given commute you'll see dozens of people playing with their phone while…

>People in Australia don't take driving seriously. Honestly, as an Australian living in the US, i'm not sure you have enough context. After living in both Asia and the US, we're a nanny state on this stuff. In the US, people barely ever get breathe tested and often drive drunk, speed everywhere (70-80mph is a lot faster than 110-120kmh). I've also seen Facetime in use multiple times while on the freeway.

Yeah in general Australian driving is pretty good I've found. Japan is the only country I've been to where the driving is clearly better.

Driving in other countries - the Americas, Asia, Europe, even the supposed peak of Western organisation and efficiency Germany had significantly poorer driving than I see in Australia.

But use of phones is an issue and I'm glad to see this being put in place.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#142

Post by FlagsAreFun »

Phillipharryt wrote: post #135

What's ridiculous is you can't turn in any footage you take yourself. As a cyclist with a camera on my bicycle I have hundreds of drivers on their phone, yet the police has nowhere for me to turn this in.

This is simply not true. You can report any incidents via Crime Stoppers here: https://www.crimestoppers.com.au/give-information#block-view.... Each jurisdiction's specific reporting forms are different, but you can usually upload small files as attachments.

If you do want the footage to be useful though, you'll have to be willing to put enough personal information in so the police can use you as a witness in court. Your witness account is the primary evidence and the footage the supporting evidence.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#143

Post by sjwright »

Sendotsh wrote: post #89

Good. People in Australia don't take driving seriously. I spend a lot of time on the road, and have lived all over Australia, and the one defining thing I've found in common all over the country is that people are WAY too casual about driving. Sydney and Melbourne being the worst by far, with it being so bad it has become entertainment[0] On any given commute you'll see dozens of people playing with their phone while…

As an Australian who has driven extensively in many countries, my observation is that the quality and attitude of drivers around the world maps fairly closely to the style of the built environment and regulatory environment.

Australian roads are unceasingly sensible. Every road is an appropriate width, every road has a logical speed limit, overtaking zones are clearly marked, heck, every bend on a fast road has a sign indicating the recommended cornering speed. All this sensibleness breeds complacent drivers that rarely need to engage their brains.

The UK is full of incomprehensibly narrow roads, arbitrary speed limits and a national fetish for complex muliti-lane roundabouts. And to top it off, most cars have manual transmissions. All this complexity breeds more competent, switched-on drivers.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#144

Post by [deleted] »

ShorsHammer wrote: post #125
jjulius wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This sounds like a hassle for anyone trying to use gps on their phones. What hassle? Futzing with your GPS app while driving is just as dangerous as texting. Set your destination before you drive and pull over if you need to adjust it, just as you should if you need to text. >How can you accept rides or confirm a pickup... Pull over.

> Futzing with your GPS app while driving is just as dangerous as texting. Just as dangerous yes, but using a standalone GPS or dashboard touchscreen is legal in Australia which makes this rule strange. I talk on a handheld CB radio regularly in the car and that's perfectly legal too.

[deleted]

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#145

Post by DEADBEEFC0FFEE »

tiew9Vii wrote: post #114
Sendotsh wrote: post #89

Good. People in Australia don't take driving seriously. I spend a lot of time on the road, and have lived all over Australia, and the one defining thing I've found in common all over the country is that people are WAY too casual about driving. Sydney and Melbourne being the worst by far, with it being so bad it has become entertainment[0] On any given commute you'll see dozens of people playing with their phone while…

Completely agree. I can’t figure it out though, they have some strict standards getting a license, red p’s for 12-24 months + 120 logbook hours, then green p’s where they are restricted to dangerous below highway speeds so have drivers aggressively overtaking them. Despite this, standards seem far lower than Europe. The horn thing is really annoying, often the person being beeped can’t move forward anyway due to traf…

I drive in Australia, and I'm not like what you have described.

My general attitude is to be courteous. That doesn't mean I dont nip through on amber, or go over the speed limit by a couple kph, or park.

However I do behave as I would want other to behave. I don't drive too close to cars in front. I zip feed always. I indicate, even if nobody is around. I treat bikes and bicycles like other cars. I defer to busses. I slow down and wave pedestrians across if it's safe. Just good manners really.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#146

Post by wbercx »

y4mi wrote: post #3

So they're ramping up the detection of people using their phones while waiting for the traffic light to turn green? Doesn't really sound like this is actually about safety. I doubt these cameras can capture the photo do a decent quality on that angle for anything but standing or very slow moving cars But I guess we can hope it will stop some people, even if there will be a lot of people caught that weren't really end…

I cross a particularly busy intersection here in Melbourne as a pedestrian every day.

At least once a week I see people who are too busy playing with their phones to realise all the cars in front of them had already driven off, the traffic light was now red again, and pedestrians were about to start crossing. The sudden realisation then makes them slam the accelerator without checking their surroundings first.

At the same intersection I witnessed an accident where the first driver in line was playing with their phone, got spooked by someone honking, and ran the red light straight into traffic.

It's like they're tricking themselves into thinking they're paying enough attention.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#147

Post by zmmmmm »

My prediction is that this initiative will kill people by encouraging phone apps to build in complex voice interaction features that are almost as dangerous but undetectable and therefore will be used indiscriminately by drivers. To those arguing this is a good thing in a black and white manner, please have a think about whether the convenience of that simplistic approach is worth the lives of the people who may die through unintended consequences.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#148

Post by foobar1962 »

gnicholas wrote: post #133
foobar1962 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just read the NSW legislation. Phones cannot be touched except for passing to a passenger. To be used to take calls they must be operated hands-free. For GPS and speed apps, it IS legal to touch the device, as long as it is mounted.

That's a great way to treat GPS apps. In CA, our law is across-the-board, and it doesn't matter if you're playing candy crush or using navigation. I wish we had a GPS carveout, though I've never heard of anyone who was legit using navigation on a mounted device getting a ticket for having done so in CA.

Link to the NSW legslation: https://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/stayingsafe/mobileph...

The relevant info is in the first table.

I've just noticed the rules about making and answering calls and audio playing uses the term EITHER, as in Either in a cradle OR can be operated without touching. So it appears that drivers can touch the phone when making calls or playing audio when the phone is in a cradle or mount. If the device is used for GPS or speed monitoring then it can be hand-held.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#150

Post by Phillipharryt »

FlagsAreFun wrote: post #142
Phillipharryt wrote: post #135

What's ridiculous is you can't turn in any footage you take yourself. As a cyclist with a camera on my bicycle I have hundreds of drivers on their phone, yet the police has nowhere for me to turn this in.

This is simply not true. You can report any incidents via Crime Stoppers here: https://www.crimestoppers.com.au/give-information#block-view... . Each jurisdiction's specific reporting forms are different, but you can usually upload small files as attachments. If you do want the footage to be useful though, you'll have to be willing to put enough personal information in so the police can use you as a witness in court.…

Yeah so if I want to give up a lot of personal information, then give up my time appearing in court, and have the guilty party know who I am, then yes, there is a way to report it. But if I don't want that massive impact on my life just to share my clear video and photo evidence, then I can't do anything. But you can report littering easily. No reason I shouldn't be able to do the same for people on their phone. They've made it prohibitively difficult to share my evidence, so I think I'm fine saying there's no way for me to just turn in my footage.
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