$15m black hole: Unpaid fines double after new cameras roll out

The Queensland rollout of mobile phone and seatbelt cameras has seen the value of unpaid fines skyrocket in the past year.

The value of unpaid fines owed by drivers caught using their mobile phones behind the wheel has soared by more than 90 per cent since new $1000 penalties were introduced.

It comes amid a recent surge in mobile phone fines in the wake of hi-tech cameras being deployed on Queensland roads, with about 7000 motorists being nabbed every month.

The State Penalties Enforcement Registry is now chasing down about $15.2 million in unpaid fines owed by distracted drivers – up from $7.8 million in January 2020 ahead of the introduction of the $1000 fines.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey is standing by the hefty penalty – pointing to the more than 1200 road trauma injuries caused every year by distracted driving.

“It’s simple. Don’t use your phone while driving, and you won’t be fined,” Mr Bailey said.

“I make no apologies for these fines, given we are on average losing 30 lives per year on Queensland roads because of distraction.”

There are currently 23,659 distracted driving penalties sitting with SPER – which is up from 22,931 before the fine value was increased on February 1, 2020.

The total number of fines referred to SPER since the fine hike came into effect is about 13,389 – totalling more than $15 million.

In a statement, the SPER registrar insisted the agency had been actively collecting the fines.

“Just under 50 per cent are either paid or in a payment plan,” they said.

“The remainder are either under active enforcement, within the time-to-pay period where SPER can’t take action, under active investigation or suspended due to the impacts of recent flooding.

“While the value has increased, there’s been very little growth in the volume of mobile phone-related fines with SPER.”

New cameras that catch out drivers flouting the distracted driving rules began issuing fines in November, with about 7000 penalties issued every month in the first three months of their operation.

This was up from an average of about 485 distracted driving fines per month in the period between February 2020 and March 2021.

The number of fines referred to SPER between February 2020 and March 2022 averaged about 535 per month.

The current fine for drivers caught using their mobile phone is $1033.