"Does that mean I can't use my phone to pay when I'm in the Maccas drive thru?": Younger drivers' uncertainty and attitude toward smartphone law and punishment.

This study employed a mixed methods approach (a survey [n = 2,774] and focus groups [n = 16]) to understand the perceptions of younger drivers (18-25) on current smartphone laws in the Australian state of Victoria. First, by analysing quantitative data gathered from an online survey regarding smartphone laws, perceptions of punishment when breaking the law, and attitudes to both the law and fines, this study found younger drivers were less likely to understand the law around phone use while driving, even after direct or indirect experience with police. Additionally, the severity and impact of fines were perceived as more impactful and severe among younger drivers, women, and those on lower incomes, and the most common types of illegal use younger drivers engaged with were navigation, music applications, and hands-free calling, mostly facilitated through Bluetooth with their device placed out of sight. Consequently, focus groups were conducted with a subset of these younger drivers to explore these findings in more depth. It was revealed that smartphone laws were perceived to be ambiguous, at times unreasonable, and difficult to access conclusive information regarding the law or receive information throughout the Graduated Licencing Program. Additionally, of full licenced drivers breaking smartphone laws (n = 807), 61.7 percent never used a cradle. Among probationary drivers breaking the law (n = 209), 76.1 percent never used a cradle. This suggests rampant surreptitious illegal use. As such, younger drivers learning to drive are also learning methods to avoid punishment while breaking smartphone laws. This included not using a cradle and opting instead for Bluetooth connectivity or engaging in hand-held use, a choice that continued into Full Licensed driving. The severity of punishment was not common knowledge and was perceived to be incommensurate to the risks associated with certain types of use. In their opinion all of these factors reduced the legitimacy of the law. Addressing these factors with evidence-based countermeasures may increase compliance and road safety.

Understanding the deterrent impact formal and informal sanctions have on illegal smartphone use while driving.

The illegal use of a smartphone while driving increases the risk of crashes. As such, road authorities rely on countermeasures to reduce illegal smartphone use. Deterrence-based methods dominate road safety, however, perceptions and impact of formal (legal) and informal (non-legal) methods to deter illegal smartphone use in Australia have not yet been explored. The current study reports on a survey of 2774 drivers (47.0 % males) that own and regularly use a smartphone. The survey analysed the self-reported frequency of illegal smartphone use while driving, perceptions of formal and informal deterrence mechanisms, differences between perceived and informed deterrence, and deterrent predictors of illegal use. The findings revealed that illegal smartphone use is increasing in Victoria, Australia. Drivers that break the law perceive deterrent mechanisms significantly different from drivers that abide by the law, however, both groups view the prospect of hurting oneself as most impactful. Additionally, drivers tend to underestimate the consequences of illegal use, yet overestimate the certainty of apprehension. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that only age, gender and informal sanctions such as social loss (stigma/peer disapproval), internal loss (shame/guilt/embarrassment), and physical loss (injury/property damage) were significant predictors of illegal use. None of the formal mechanisms were significant. Based on these findings, road safety interventions and future research should consider exploring the psychological characteristics of young people's perceptions of informal sanctions such as social loss (shame/embarrassment) and internal loss (guilt).