Drivers caught using their mobile phones behind the wheel in Queensland will face the toughest fines in the country from next year.
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Anyone caught using a phone will be fined $1000 from February 1, and drivers caught twice within a year risk losing their licence.
The fine is more than double the current penalty of $400.
The announcement comes after 47 people were caught in the Warrnambool central business district on two days last week using their phone.
The fine for those offences was a $496 fine and the loss of four demerit points.
Senior Constable Corey Holland, of the Warrnambool police highway patrol unit, said drivers were not obeying the law.
"It's a very clear indication of how serious the offence is. Distraction is a major issue, especially when you're driving in a busy CBD," he said.
"A lot of the drivers being caught are texting or using apps," he said.
Queensland transport Minister Mark Bailey says Queensland will also trial cameras already in use in NSW that are specifically designed to detect mobile phone use on the roads.
"They are the toughest laws in Australia ... because this problem has been escalating," he told ABC radio on Thursday.
"I just can't accept the road toll - we've got to deal with this."
Mr Bailey says drivers already know they are breaking the law and risking lives by picking up their devices, and there's no need for a long lead in time.
"The safest thing for people to do is to change their behaviour right now because that means safer roads."
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