A South Australian Police (SAPOL) operation has found that twice as many drivers were caught using their mobile phones last week as compared to a week in January. Operation Fatal Distraction, conducted statewide from March 21 to 27, focused on motorists committing distraction-based offences related to mobile phone use. During the seven day period, 257 motorists were detected reading messages, using social media, or engaging in other phone-related distracting behaviour while driving, compared to 112 drivers doing the same when the operation was conducted in January. This comes after SAPOL detected 4,595 motorists using their phones while behind the wheel in 2021, with 24 drivers losing their lives and 203 being seriously injured in crashes where distraction was a contributing factor. Officer in Charge of the Traffic Services Branch, Superintendent Bob Gray, called the results alarming and frustrating. “Drivers need to realise that using a mobile phone while driving can …