If you text n’ drive, you’re a bloody idiot

The cops are cracking down on using your phone behind the wheel.

We all know that you should use a hands-free car kit if you’re talking on the phone while driving, but the police are catching up with the fact that there’s a lot more to mobile phones than voice.

Victoria is the latest state to crack down on mobiles behind the wheel. Under the changes, mobile phone use for any purpose while driving will only be permitted if the phone is in a commercially designed holder and the driver does not need to touch any part of the phone to receive a call (by using Bluetooth or a similar technology), reports The Age. It seems putting the call on speaker-phone isn’t good enough.

Of particular interest is the fact that even holding a mobile phone – whether or not you’re on a phone call – will now be prohibited. This includes resting it on your lap and even seems to apply when you’re stopped at the lights. I imagine they wouldn’t look to kindly on you sitting a netbook on the passenger seat either.

The new laws appear to encompass using a mobile phone for texting and satellite navigation, not just making voice calls. Get caught and you’re looking at a $234 fine as well as three demerit points. Suddenly a decent car kit doesn’t seem all that expensive.

At least the new Victorian laws make it clear that you are permitted to use a phone as a sat-nav device if it’s in a “commercially designed holder”. The law isn’t as forgiving in NSW, where the rules can be interpreted to mean that it’s illegal to use a phone for sat-nav even if it is in a car kit.

The laws in Victoria and South Australia are just as strict for Learners and P platers, who are banned from even using hands-free car kits whilst driving. Once again, the penalty is a $200+ fine and three demerit points. If you’re on your Ls or your Ps, the safest option is to turn off your phone before you get in the car.

I’ve been on the look out for a decent iPhone car kit for a while but I haven’t seen anything that gets a tick in every box. I think I’d better start looking a bit harder.

What kind of car kit have you got for your phone mobile?