A measure that would see mobile phones confiscated from drivers who are caught using them behind the wheel may be on the agenda at Western Australia‘s road safety summit next month.
It comes after the state’s road toll reached an eight-year high this week, with 118 people killed so far this year.
Car crash survivor Rob Pike counts himself lucky to be alive.
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“I broke my back, had 200 stitches, severe cuts and lacerations, and lost both my legs,” he said.
The 42-year-old lost three of his mates 25 years ago when the car they were travelling in hit a tree in Baldivis.
“I looked to see if my best friend was OK, and he wasn’t,” he said.
“I was sitting next to my dead best friend.”
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Former Road Safety Council chair Murray Lampard said it was time for tougher action to tackle unsafe driving.
A measure on the table includes confiscating mobile phones from drivers who use them illegally while behind the wheel.
“If they had the fear of losing their phone that’s so important to them, I think they would think twice about using it whilst on the road,” he said.
Lampard also said there could be better use of the $126 million currently sitting in the state’s Road Trauma Trust.
“Spend that large amount of money on important road safety initiatives here in Western Australia,” he said.
“The police could do with a hand to be able to put more officers on the road.”
The Cook government is also looking at rolling out six mobile and seatbelt cameras by the end of the year.
“The government is doing everything we can. Strong investment, strong road safey campaigns and of course there’s no shortage of ideas,” Premier Roger Cook said.
“And we need to sit round the table and continue to collate those ideas.”
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