Mobile police catch phone users

Police have caught almost 800 motorists on mobile phones in a 24-hour crackdown.

Rob Wright

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• Keep your eyes on the road
• Mobile phone rules for drivers

MAKING and taking calls in traffic, or texting from behind the wheel, has landed almost 800 motorists in strife with police.

Police have issued 796 fines in a 24-hour statewide crackdown on mobile phone use while driving.

Codenamed Operation Compliance, the operation saw 632 drivers pinged on metropolitan roads and 164 in regional or rural centres.

Officers also issued 350 infringement notices for school speed zone and children's crossing offences.

Acting Highway Patrol and Traffic Command Operations Manager, Acting Superintendent Phil Brooks, warned police will continue to target such offences.

"For police to catch 1146 motorists using their mobile phones and misbehaving around schools in just 24 hours is very concerning," A/Supt Brooks said.

"The effect of using a hand-held phone behind the wheel has been widely studied and is universally acknowledged to dramatically increase the risk of having a crash.

"We will continue to target motorists using their mobile phones because, clearly, by not concentrating solely on driving their vehicle and their surroundings, they are putting other road users at risk," he said.

Motorists in Rose Bay and Surry Hills were the state's worst offenders, with 115 and 113 caught using their phones in those areas respectively.

Motorists in Newcastle (23), Tweed/Byron (19) and Griffith (17) recorded the most offences in regional NSW.