Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey has flagged increasing fines for distracted driving from $400 to $1000 dollars, with a licence suspension on the second strike.
"We made a commitment to work with experts on road safety to influence new thinking and approaches to distracted driving and that's what we've done," he said.
"Time is overdue for us to get this right. All our lives depend on it."
In 2017, 38 people were killed, and 1224 people hospitalised by distracted drivers on Queensland's roads.
Queensland's recent road toll has also been in the spotlight, with more than 40 fatalities in the past two months.
The Driver Distraction National Summit, which is now being held in Brisbane, is bringing together more than 70 road safety experts and stakeholders, including technology companies, vehicle manufacturers, insurers and motoring lobbies to discuss ways to deter drivers from reaching out to answer a text or use social media while on the road.
RACQ spokesperson Paul Turner said while increased fines were part of the solution, they weren't a cure-all.
"These fines will only work if people think they're going to be caught so that means more police on the roads, with the tools they need to catch offenders, just like random breath testing and loss of licence were the breakthrough for drink driving offences," he said.
State opposition leader Deb Frecklington said there was merit in fines, but wants guarantees it isn't blatant revenue raising.
"I'd like to call on the Palaszczuk government to ensure that every cent of this money is rolled back into road safety initiatives or fixing up our roads in this state," she said.
The proposal is being discussed at a three-day road safety summit in Brisbane.
South Australia currently has the highest fine for using a mobile phone while driving at $534, followed by Victoria at $484 and the ACT at $470.
