Every day on the road, we see it: drivers with one hand on the wheel and one hand on a phone, thinking, “it’ll only take a second.” The reality is that a second is all it takes.
Queensland statistics continue to show mobile phone distraction plays a major role in serious crashes and fatalities. But honestly, most people already know the stats. The bigger issue is that too many drivers still believe it won’t happen to them.
I’ve been around transport and safety long enough to know crashes don’t just affect the person behind the wheel. They impact families, workmates, emergency services and communities. One quick glance at a text message can change multiple lives forever.
What worries me most is that mobile phones distract drivers in more ways than people realise:
Even when stopped at traffic lights, your focus is no longer where it should be. Traffic changes in seconds. Pedestrians move. Vehicles brake unexpectedly. Situations develop quickly. The scary part is that most people don’t even recognise how distracted they’ve become until there’s a near miss, or worse.
Modern vehicles have more safety technology than ever before, yet distraction is still one of the biggest risks on our roads because technology cannot replace attention and judgement.
The message is simple:
If the message can wait, let it wait.
If the call matters, pull over safely.
No text, email, social update or phone call is worth risking a life over.
At the end of the day, every single one of us wants to get home safely and wants the people around us to get home safely too.
You can drive.
You can text.
But you can’t safely do both.
| Tony Erhardt |
