Motorists who are caught out by NSW’s mobile detection cameras will start copping big fines and demerit points as the grace period for the new technology comes to an end.
The cameras were officially switched on at the start of December 2019 and are active in numerous locations across the state.
To give drivers a chance to get used to the new cameras, the NSW government allowed for a three-month grace period.
This meant that during the three months from December 1 drivers who were caught by the cameras weren’t penalised, instead they were sent a warning letter.
However, this grace period has now ended and starting from today, drivers caught by the mobile detection camera will receive a $344 fine and five demerit points.
This penalty is bumped up to $457 if they are caught in a school zone or ten demerit points if they are caught during a double demerits period.
NSW Transport has not confirmed the exact date that the grace period will end.
During the first week the cameras checked 773,532 vehicles and 3,303 drivers were caught illegally using their phones behind the wheel in various locations across the state.
Minister for Roads Andrew Constance said this kind of behaviour from road users was “stupid” and needed to end.
“At 60km/h if you look at your phone while driving for just two seconds, you travel 33 metres blind – it’s dangerous, it’s stupid and it needs to stop,” he said in a statement at the end of last year.
“Around 500 drivers a day are getting pinged by these cameras doing the wrong thing. With double demerits starting Friday we need drivers to get the message and get off the phone, otherwise they risk killing themselves or someone innocent on our roads.”
Mr Constance thanked the thousands of other drivers who have been doing the right thing.
“We have seen a reduction in the noncompliance rate by two thirds since we first trailed the technology earlier this year,” he said.
The camera pilot between January and June identified more than 100,000 drivers illegally using a mobile phone while driving from the 8,500,000 vehicles checked.
The technology uses high-definition cameras to capture images of the front seats of vehicles as they drive past.
Artificial intelligence is then used to automatically review the images and detect if a driver is on their phone.
If the automated system flags an offending driver, that image will be reviewed by a human before a penalty is issued.
The cameras are even capable of catching dangerous drivers at night, in poor weather conditions and at speeds up to 300km/h.
As with other road safety camera programs in NSW, strict controls are in place to ensure images captured by the system are securely stored and managed.
Executive Director of Transport for NSW’s Centre for Road Safety Bernard Carlon said the latest addition to the Government’s road safety program could prevent about 100 fatal and serious injury crashes over five years.
“We need to see a steep behavioural change from motorists to save lives. While drivers caught on camera get a warning now, NSW Police will continue to issue fines for illegal mobile phone use as part of their regular operations,” Mr Carlon said.
The mobile phone detection camera program will progressively expand to perform an estimated 135 million vehicle checks on NSW roads each year by 2023.
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