Using a Mobile Phone Is Worth Three Points

But look at the 2003 NSW RTA Road Crash stats.

Table 12 lists Factors Contributing to a crash.

Degree of Crash
Units in Numbers
Fatal/Injury/Non-Injury/Total

Tyres: 4/91/204/299
Using Handheld Phone: 0/7/16/23
Distraction In Vehicle (Not Phone): 0/261/463/724 (let's take licences off all smokers and anyone who eats/drinks!)

So, the amount of crashes caused by faulty tyres (you have to assume a lot of those were due to things like underinflation, excessive wear, overloading and so on) and resulting in injury was 13 times that of using a phone. And an amazingly similar 12.75 times for non-injury crashes. In the case of deaths the difference is infinite because of course not one single person was killed due to using their phone but 7 dies due to probably never looking at their tyres.

How many people get demerit points for bald tyres running on steel or canvas?

Why the hysteria over people using phones in cars? Where's the real story on why this has become such a major source of punitive punishment?

(source; NSW RTA Road Crash Stats 2003)