Using Your Mobile Phone While Driving Could Cost You More Than Demerit Points

by Julie Burton | June 16, 2025| Latest News

Using your mobile phone while you are driving is an offence in NSW. The penalties include 5 demerit points and a fine, which is increased if the offence is committed in a school zone. There are mobile detection cameras which are used to target mobile phone use by drivers.

There can be wider consequences for those caught using their mobile phones while driving if they are at work at the time of the offence, including loss of employment. Some recent cases have upheld the dismissal of employees who have been fired for using their phone while driving at work.

In the first case, a bus driver who was driving an empty bus took his hands off the wheel to remove his phone from his pocket and then used the phone while driving. This was caught on CCTV. The driver said that it was not a phone but a diary. The Fair Work Commission viewed the CCTV more than 20 times and came to the conclusion that the hand and thumb actions were consistent with the use of a smart phone rather than opening and turning the pages of a diary. The driver’s dismissal was upheld by the Commission.

In another case involving a bus driver, CCTV footage once again caught the driver using a mobile phone, this time with a bus full of passengers. The bus missed two stops and came into contact with branches on the side of a road while the driver was using the phone. The driver’s excuse was that he was concerned for his son’s safety who was overseas at the time. The Commission rejected this evidence and, although the driver had an unblemished record, found that the incident constituted serious misconduct and justified dismissal.

In the mining industry, a truck driver’s use of a mobile phone was detected by an infra-red driver alertness system. This system was used to detect driver fatigue and distraction for drivers working in an open-cut coal mine in the Hunter Valley. While the CCTV footage did not show a visible mobile phone, the footage did show the worker’s head and neck from the front and that she was repeatedly looking down for long periods. There were also flashes of light and bright spots on her face while she was driving. After an investigation of one incident, the employer found another 9 instances where the employee was suspected to have used her mobile phone while driving. Expert evidence was called and a re-enactment undertaken as to the light flashes because the worker had alleged that the flashes had come from outside the truck. Again, even though the employee had a long career with the company, the seriousness of the conduct meant that her dismissal was upheld by the Commission.

If driving is part of your employment, not only are you subject to the road rules but also your workplace’s policies as to mobile phone use. Where there is a clear policy which has been communicated to employees, it is difficult for an employee to say they are not aware of the policy and the risk of dismissal from employment for a breach of the policy is real.

Julie Burton and Geoff Lloyd are experts in employment law.  Contact us if you need assistance, either as an employee or an employer.