4.2 Mobile Phones, Licence-Based Restrictions and Rider Distraction

Mobile Phones, Licence-Based Restrictions and Rider Distraction

Queensland applies a base mobile-phone rule to every driver and rider, then adds tighter restrictions for particular novice licence and age groups. The motorcycle pages expressly say that the restrictions applying to the person’s car licence type and age also apply when riding a motorcycle. A blanket “all RE learners have the same phone ban” is therefore inaccurate.

The rule for every rider

While riding, a person must not hold a mobile phone in the hand or rest it on any part of the body. The ban continues while stopped at a red light or stationary in traffic. Balancing a phone on a thigh, tucking it between the helmet and face, or holding it briefly to change navigation is not lawful use.

The rule covers more than calls. Texting, social media, selecting music, video, navigation entry and other phone functions can all breach the law when the device is handled unlawfully. Even permitted hands-free use can lead to enforcement if the rider is not in proper control or rides without due care and attention.

Extra restrictions by age and underlying licence

TMR’s learner-rider and RE-holder pages state:

• a P1 holder under 25 must not use a mobile phone at all while riding, including hands-free use;
• P2 holders, P1 holders aged 25 or over, and open-licence holders may use a mobile phone hands-free, subject to the general rules.

The general mobile-phone page also applies the strict novice restriction to the probationary and restricted categories it identifies. Under the strict rule, the person must not use hands-free, a wireless headset, the phone’s loudspeaker or voice control. A phone in a pocket or worn pouch must not be touched, looked at or voice-operated.

Because licence labels matter, read the facts. An RE learner who holds an open car licence is in a different phone category from an RE learner whose underlying licence is P1 and who is under 25. Both remain subject to all other RE learner conditions.

Lawful hands-free use

For an eligible open or P2 holder, a phone may be used hands-free in a cradle attached to the vehicle, and the person may touch the mounted phone for hands-free functions such as accepting a call, using navigation, skipping a song or accepting or ending a rideshare trip. The mount must not obscure the rider’s view.

Open and P2 holders may also use voice control when the phone is in a clothing pocket or a pouch being worn, but they must not touch or look at it. TMR’s rider page says a P1 holder aged 25 or over may use hands-free; because the general page’s express permission to touch a mounted phone names open and P2 holders, the safest accurate exam distinction is not to extend that touching permission beyond the categories TMR names.

A Bluetooth helmet unit does not erase the licence restriction. If the rider belongs to the no-use group, wireless-headset and voice use are prohibited. If the rider is eligible, hands-free operation must still leave the rider in proper control.

When a phone may be handled

A person may handle a phone when safely parked. Queensland defines parked as stopped with the intention of staying at that place; it does not require an extra “engine switched off” element in the published definition.

There are also narrow safely-stopped uses to:

• pay for goods or services, such as at a drive-through;
• gain access to or leave a road-related area, such as a car park;
• present a digital driver licence or document to police when asked; or
• obtain a card or money from a phone wallet for those purposes.

These exceptions do not permit general messaging at traffic lights.

Penalties and non-phone devices

The current Queensland page lists 4 demerit points for illegal mobile-phone use. A second or later mobile-phone offence within 1 year attracts double demerit points. Queensland double demerits apply all year, not only on holiday weekends. Dollar fines are indexed, so use the live schedule rather than an old figure.

The mobile-phone rules do not apply to CB or other two-way radios, although careless or distracted operation may still breach broader control and due-care duties. Navigation, intercom and audio should be set before departure, at a lawful rest stop or through a permitted method. The legal minimum is not the safety optimum: if an interaction consumes attention, do not perform it while moving.