Aussies...What do you think about the mobile phone laws whilst driving?

I kind of agree with you. If you are going to ban one thing, you should ban them all, I have seen a lady painting her nails while driving in Sydney, and I also think if the mobiles are banned, so should be eating while driving (always seeing someone trying to un wrap a burger while trying to drive and eat chips at the same time). Or wearing earphones while driving, so dangerous.

Tests on good drivers have shown that mobile phone use is more detrimental to driving skills than having a blood alcohol level higher than 0.08. Even using hands-free phones is still highly distracting.

The problem with hands free phones is that the person on the other end cannot see what you can see or what you are doing. If you are having a conversation with someone in the car and your driving needs your full attention, you stop talking and do what you have to do. The person you are talking to can see what is happening and waits until you have finished before continuing the conversation. A person on the phone cannot see what is happening and will be demanding attention while you are trying to drive. This is very distracting.

Quite honestly, if you cannot manage to go for a few hours without talking to someone on a telephone you need to get a life. And not talking on the phone while you are driving might actually save yours.

Anyone who thinks it is OK to use a mobile phone (other than a legal hands free system) while driving is either very immature or brain dead.

I saw an interview with a senior police officer, on the news recently, where he was giving stats on road accidents involving mobile phones. it was frightening. He told of the number of mobile phones found at the scene of accidents, many fatal, with partial text messages recorded on them.

Young people of today just can't manage if they don't have their phone in their hand. What is so hard about pulling up to make or receive a phone call?

Police in WA did an early morning blitz, on the freeway leading into the Perth CBD, last week & charged 83 people with using their phone while driving. I hope they do more of these blitzes!

Not so bad using phone to take a call but dialling and texting would be very distracting.
My GPS unit won't allow me to do anything on it until the vehicle is stationary and the two previous units were the same.
Radio in car can be controlled from the steering wheel saves being distracted by knobs on radio.
Hands free still legal in WA Sheila.

Using your mobile phone is worse than driving drunk so yeah, fair call really...

I don't use my mobile in the car and don't have a GPS, but I agree that talking on a mobile seems less intrusive than a GPS. The radio station and CD changing, whilst a distraction, are easier to do and can be done in stages. Still, if you want to talk on a mobile, there's always hands free (are they still legal?).

Before mobile phones, there were only home landline phones. If you weren't home, you weren't home, unavailable.
Same goes for mobiles whilst driving, not home, not available. When driving, my phone goes into the left-side pants pocket so that the seatbelt has to be unbuckled to take it out.
GPS is a bit of a w@nk. it's too unreliable anyway. It's easier to look at a map and understand where you're going beforehand, rather than having a GPS lead you up a blind alley.

I think they are good.I was out driving with the family one day & saw a learner driver next to us at the lights.His instructor was texting in the seat alongside him.It was a driving school car,not private.What sort of idiot would he be?