This research implemented both qualitative and quantitative methods to 1) explore young drivers’ (aged between 17 and 25 years) awareness and perceptions of legal sanctions associated with phone use while driving and 2) identify whether the accuracy of their knowledge influences deterrence-related perceptions. In the qualitative phase, 60 Queensland motorists participated in focus groups. The findings of the focus groups highlighted that greater awareness of the penalty for phone use while driving would enable this punishment to act as a more salient deterrent. More specifically, the penalty for hands-free phone use was considered too high, whereas when the penalty was applied to hand-held phone use it was considered reasonable, with some commenting that increasing the fine could be a greater deterrent. However, the penalty also appeared to be linked to the perceived legitimacy of the rule. The quantitative phase utilised a cross-sectioanl survey design and consisted of 503 drivers. Overall, more participants appear to be underestimating (63% underestimated the fine and 37% underestimated the demerit points) as opposed to overestimating (14% overestimated the fine and 22% overestimated the demerit points) the penalty for phone use while driving. As expected, compared to those who accurately estimated the extent of the punishment (both the monetary sanction and the number of demerit points) associated with phone use while driving, drivers who underestimated the phone punishment (points and fine) had significantly lower perceptions of the severity of punishment. These findings suggest that some young drivers do not have sufficient knowledge of mobile phone sanctions, which has significant implications for ongoing attempts to maximise deterrent mechanisms.

这项研究采用了定性和定量方法，以：1）探索年轻驾驶员（年龄在17至25岁之间）对与驾车时使用电话相关的法律制裁的认识和认识，以及2）确定其知识的准确性是否会影响与威慑相关的看法。在定性阶段，昆士兰州的60名驾驶者参加了焦点小组。焦点小组的调查结果突出表明，对驾驶时使用电话的处罚的更多认识将使这种处罚起到更大的威慑作用。更具体地说，认为对免提电话使用的罚款过高，而对手持电话使用处罚则被认为是合理的，有人评论说提高罚款可能具有更大的威慑力。然而，惩罚似乎也与规则的合法性有关。定量阶段采用跨物种调查设计，由503位驾驶员组成。总体而言，更多的参与者似乎对驾车时使用电话的处罚低估了（63％的低估了罚款，37％的低估了低分），而不是高估了（14％的高估了罚款和22％的低分）。不出所料，与准确估算与驾车时使用电话相关的处罚程度（金钱制裁和记分的数量）的人相比，低估了电话处罚（点数和罚款）的驾驶员对驾驶行为的认知明显较低。严厉的处罚。