3AW listener nabbed texting and driving — while listening to Ross and John discuss just that

Mobile phone use has been declared the new drink driving, with safety chiefs launching a new campaign targeting texting motorists.

3AW Breakfast covered the story this morning and Kelly Grindley from Victoria Police shared the story of one unfortunate Ross and John listener.

She said a motorist on his mobile phone was pulled over by a traffic cop on the Monash Freeway at around 7am.

“The police member pulled him over and spoke to him, he’s was a 44 year old man from Wheelers Hill. As the member was chatting to him he noticed that this driver was listening to you guys. At the time you were talking about driver distraction with regard to mobile phone use,” she said.

“He’s just experienced that crack down for himself, first hand!”

The motorist was fined $484 and lost four demerit points.

The interview the motorist was listening to was Samantha Cockfield, Lead Director of Road Safety at TAC.

She said mobile phone use is a leading cause of accidents.

“We honestly do think that texting or using a mobile phone is certainly a key factor in the number of people we’re seeing being killed or seriously injured,” she told Ross and John.

The TAC today launched a confronting new advertising campaign targeting motorists distracted by their phones.

The advertisement features a man driving while his eyes are covered by a pair of hands, to illustrate the impact a two second glance at a phone has on driving.

One-in-three drivers and one-in-two younger drivers admit to using their phone while driving.

Press PLAY below to hear Kelly Grindley from Police Media reporting the 3AW Breakfast listener who experienced the crack down first hand.

Press PLAY below to hear what the TAC’s Lead Director of Road Safety, Samantha Cockfield, had to say about the confronting new TAC advertising campaign.