New cameras turned on and set to catch 1 in 100 motorists using mobile phone while driving
One in 100 motorists who threaten lives by using mobile phones behind the wheel were expected to be busted by hi-tech detection cameras switched on across NSW on Sunday.
NSW
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One in 100 motorists who threaten lives by using mobile phones behind the wheel were expected to be busted by hi-tech detection cameras switched on across NSW on Sunday.
Up to 10 cameras were turned on yesterday, including a fixed camera on the M4 at Prospect and another on Anzac Parade near Moore Park.
However, drivers captured flouting the law will initially be spared punishment during a three-month grace period which will see them receive a warning letter only.
After that, offenders will be hit with a $344 fine, or $457 in a school zone, and five demerit points.
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A six-month trial earlier this year caught 1.2 per cent of drivers — or roughly one in 100 — using their phones. In comparison, even the most lucrative speed cameras only catch 0.5 per cent — or one in 200 — motorists committing an offence.
A source at Transport for NSW said up to 10 cameras, including fixed and portable units, had been switched on across both Sydney and regional locations. The cameras come without warning signs.
The program will slowly be expanded over the next three years, and by 2023 there will be about 45 cameras checking more than 135 million vehicles annually.
The new road safety devices use a number of cameras and an infra-red flash to capture clear images of every vehicle that passes by, before the image is analysed by artificial intelligence software looking for illegal phone use.
Images that are likely to contain a mobile phone offence are then pixelated and cropped before they are reviewed by a person, who will then make a call on whether to issue a penalty or not.
Pictures that do not contain evidence of phone use are permanently deleted, typically within an hour of being taken.
According to state government statistics, in NSW from 2012 to 2018 there were 159 casualty crashes involving a driver/rider using a hand-held mobile phone, resulting in 11 deaths and 214 persons injured. Modelling estimates the new mobile phone camera program will prevent around 100 fatal and serious injury crashes over five years.
Originally published as New cameras turned on and set to catch 1 in 100 motorists using mobile phone while driving