Mobile phone traffic cameras detect tens of thousands during COVID-19

While most NSW residents were shut down in their homes during the COVID crisis, 30,000 more were being snapped driving and using their mobile phones by new cameras which have raked in millions since they went live in March.

A driver checking their phone at traffic lights in Sydney. Picture by Damian Shaw

• Warning to drivers: There’s nowhere to hide

Hidden cameras nabbing drivers illegally using their mobile phones have reaped an astonishing $15.8 million in fines in just three months.

Despite the coronavirus lockdowns, more than 30,000 drivers were captured touching their phones since the new cameras were made live on March 1.

Almost 11 million vehicles in total were filmed passing under the new high definition detection cameras, which are in secret locations around Sydney.

Transport officials say despite the bumper revenues, the rate of mobile phone offences has actually fallen steadily since their introduction.

Image captured by new phone capturing cameras.

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All the money collected must go into a road safety fund, to be spent on measures such as flashing lights in school zones and crash barriers.

So far, 191 drivers are appealing their fines in the NSW Local Courts, but no cases have been finalised yet.

“Around one in every 370 drivers checked during this period were issued a penalty notice, achieving the lowest offence rate yet of 0.27 per cent,” Transport for NSW deputy secretary Tara McCarthy said.

“The rate of mobile phone offences by drivers has fallen steadily since the mobile phone detection cameras were first introduced for a six month pilot in January last year.

“Between January and June 2019, 8.5 million vehicles were checked by the cameras and 100,000 instances of illegal mobile phone use were detected, showing one in 82 drivers were using their mobile phone illegally, an offence rate of 1.22 per cent.

“The rate of offending fell during the warning letter period, from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020, when 10 million vehicles were checked and 33,921 warning letters were issued.

“As one in 295 drivers received a warning letter (it was) a compliance rate of 0.34 per cent.”

Image captured by the new mobile phone capturing cameras.

The figures show cameras have been far more effective than the police in catching the errant motorists – over the same three months of March, April and May police picked up 3453 motorists flouting the law.

All images captured by the cameras are reviewed automatically by artificial intelligence software and if a potential offence is detected, the picture is checked and the motorist sent a $344 fine and will lose five demerit points.

According to officials, the final amount of money collected in fines may yet be revised downwards, as many incidents would have involved company cars, who are hit with fines five times those of individuals but if a driver is nominated, the fine is cut.

By 2023, up to 45 cameras will operate and are expected to perform about 135 million vehicle checks each year.