Outrage as driver chats on phone as another applies make-up behind wheel

There’s a fierce debate raging between millennials and older drivers, as each generation blames the other for being the more dangerous on the roads. But one young woman has been slammed by all ages for her brazen actions behind the wheel.

The P-plater was filmed by a passenger in another car as she laughed and chatted on the phone, while steering with just one hand.

The video, shared online, is now being investigated by Newcastle City Police District after it was reported recently, they confirmed in a statement. It shows the brunette woman laughing as she spots the other car pass, before carrying on chatting despite clearly being filmed by her fellow motorist.

As the car filming her beeps their horn, she looks up before proudly waving her phone in the air. Clearly shocked, someone in the background says: “Can she not see the cops behind her?” 

As the driver quickly drops the phone on to her lap, they shout at her: “Cops behind you, they are going to get you.”

Police say the incident is believed to have happened at around 2.50pm on Wednesday on University Drive, in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan. She was driving a red Holden Commodore, and cops have asked for anyone with any information to come forward.

The footage was uploaded to the ‘Bad drivers caught on dashcam’ Facebook group, and it immediately sparked outrage from other users. One wrote: “Video was brought into the Waratah Police station …. they have identified the car… silly girl is getting her just deserts!!”

Another added: “Stupid, thinking she’s all that! Not cool at all!” And one user, appearing to claim they were the driver of the car that filmed the incident, wrote: “I might add the thing that drew my attention to this stupid girl was her erratic driving before I even knew she was on her phone, and before I knew she was a red P plater. I saw her swerving in and out of lanes (2 lanes) . She was like a rally car driver.. or so she thought.”

It comes after a recent warning from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), predicting that distracted driving will be a key cause in the increase of road fatalities and serious injuries over the next 12 years.

She’s not alone unfortunately, and another female driver was caught in shocking footage recently appearing to drive while applying make-up – with a child in the back of her car.

Read more: Fears over young drivers as P-plater caught eating cereal behind wheel

The video, taken in Bournemouth, England, and published by the Daily Echo, shows her looking in the driver’s sun visor mirror while seemingly swiping some mascara on. The snap was taken by a photographer from the newspaper itself, as part of a campaign against drivers using mobile phones at the wheel.

Meanwhile, another female driver, who had visible P-plates on her car, sparked outrage in April when she was caught eating a bowl of cereal from behind the wheel.  A fellow driver spotted the Perth woman’s car swerving, and their passenger managed to get a photo as she munched from the bowl – with no hands on the wheel.

Western Australia’s Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said in a statement at the time: “We’ve got their registration – they can expect a knock on the door”.

A driver in Perth has been caught eating cereal behind the wheel! pic.twitter.com/YxFtnVvA2Q

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) April 5, 2018

Read more: Hit horror drivers with lifetime ban, jail terms, experts say

That came just a month after a Perth woman was fined $400 when she was caught using FaceTime while driving. Meanwhile, according to the Herald Sun, shocked motorists have previously spotted young drivers applying make-up, reading, using their mobile phones and even shaving, while supposedly concentrating on their driving.

A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in 2017 found Millennials were the riskiest drivers, with 88 per cent of the Americans aged 19-24 surveyed acknowledging that they had engaged in what would be considered dangerous behaviour behind the wheel that month. That could include anything from texting to running red lights or speeding, USA Today reported.

In Australia in January, the Australian Medical Association called for a zero-tolerance approach to P-plate and L-plate drivers caught using mobiles and other devices behind the wheel. The AMA’s president Michael Gannon said that drivers of all age groups were guilty of using phones while driving, rule-breaking by new drivers boded particularly badly for their future driving behaviour.

“The difference with P-platers is they hold a provisional licence and it can and should be taken away from them if they are not showing early on in their driving careers proper respect for the roads,” Gannon told the Guardian at the time.

Do you think more needs to be done to stop distracted drivers? What would you suggest?