Mobile phone detection camera revenue soaring in NSW but not saving lives

Cash cow mobile phone detection cameras are pumping an average $6 million a month into government coffers – but are they bringing down the road toll as promised?

The state’s lucrative mobile phone detection cameras have raked $61 million into government coffers this year alone – but they do not appear to be making a significant dent in deaths and injuries as promised during their introduction.

When the NSW Government became the first jurisdiction in the world to switch on the surveillance network of mobile phone detection cameras in early 2020, it justified the move by citing modelling that it would “contribute to a reduction in road trauma of approximately 100 fatal and serious injury crashes over a five-year period”.

Halfway through that target, the latest figures from the NSW Centre for Road Safety show the road toll is now rising post-pandemic.

And data shows crashes involving drivers or riders touching their mobile phones have not fallen either.

The month of September recorded 35 fatalities, 119 per cent more than last year – and the highest September total since 2010.

A NSW driver caught using a phone, taken from an automatic detection camera. Supplied: NSW Government.

In fact during the 12 months ending September 2022, there were 306 fatalities, 48 more (19 per cent) than the 12 months ending September last year.

In 2019, before the cameras came in, NSW recorded 11,085 serious injuries in crashes.

In 2021 there were more – 11,273.

But fines have soared exponentially during the same period, says Liberal Democrat spokesman John Ruddick, who questions the spread of the cameras. So far they have pumped $185 million into state coffers, an average of almost $6 million a month.

A total of 1,997,444 demerit points have been accrued since they were switched on.

“Camera enforced mobile phone driving offences are almost 15 times higher than police enforced detection,” Mr Ruddick said.

Liberal Democrat spokesman John Ruddick says often drivers are being fined simply for touching their phone in the car.

“Very often drivers are being fined simply for touching their phone in the car.

“This is the latest version of the all-pervasive state invading our privacy for arguably no upside.

“We must roll back the nanny state before we are all serfs who live in an ever-present fear of Big Brother.”

Opposition roads spokesman John Graham said he supported warning signs for the cameras, more high visibility policing and that the government should “stop simply relying on cameras to keep people safe on the road”.

“We support the cameras, we support warning signs, we support high visibility policing,” he said.

“There is less high visibility policing under this camera obsessed government. That is in part because it gets less funding.”

“The proportion of mobile phone or speeding offences detected by police has collapsed from 31 per cent to 11 per cent in recent years.”

Phone detection camera on Anzac Parade between Alison and Cleveland Streets in Sydney. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“The Government should stop simply relying on cameras to keep people safe on the road.”

Transport for NSW says the rate of detection of mobile phone offences has improved sharply since the introduction, from one in 82 drivers being caught during a pilot program to one in 493.

And it says mobile phones are still strongly implicated in crashes – 26 casualty crashes involving a driver or rider using a handheld mobile resulted in six deaths and 43 injuries between January 2021 and October 10.

The data shows that in the years 2018 and 2019 there were two fatalities involving motorists or drivers touching mobile phones.

In 2020, when the cameras came in, there were five deaths.

The next year, in 2021 there were four deaths.

This year to date there has been two deaths, although authorities say the figures are under-reported.

However the location of the cameras, and how many are situated in country NSW, remains secret, making it hard to rank their effectiveness on specific roads.

“Since its introduction we have seen a significant change in the behaviour of motorists when it comes to using a hand held mobile while driving,” Transport NSW deputy secretary Tara McCarthy said.