Victorian government to spend nearly $50m on catching drivers using phones and no seatbelts
New camera technology designed to catch Victorian drivers using phones and without seatbelts will be rolled out in coming weeks.
Police & Courts
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Disobedient drivers who illegally use mobile phones or don’t wear seatbelts will be targeted as artificial intelligence-enabled road safety cameras are set to be unleashed on the state’s roads imminently.
New camera technology was trialled last month across the state’s roads, where high-resolution images of cars were captured before the fleet’s rollout in coming weeks.
The OneTask MobiCam software was successfully used in a distracted driver trial in the Netherlands, with Victorian authorities hoping it can help slash the state’s road toll by as many as 95 deaths per year.
The equipment captures high-resolution images of passing vehicles in all conditions, including poor weather and low light levels when distracted driving is even more dangerous.
The government declined to say when the cameras, which come at a cost of $33.7 million to the taxpayer, would be operational on Victorian roads.
“Victoria’s road safety camera program plays a critical role in changing driver behaviour and saving lives,” a government spokeswoman said.
“We have invested more than $33 million to introduce new mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras that will help catch people using their mobile phones while driving — making our roads safer for everyone.
“Illegally using a mobile phone while driving significantly increases the risk of being involved in a serious crash and the new cameras are estimated to prevent 95 casualty crashes a year.”
A 2020 trial of the technology found one in every 42 drivers illegally used their mobile phones behind the wheel.
Last month’s trial was to address any issues before implementation and all images captured would be deleted upon the testing with no infringements issued, the department said.
When active, potential offences captured by the cameras will undergo verification by trained assessors, with drivers found to be doing the wrong thing issued an infringement by Victoria Police.
A further 35 fixed road safety cameras will be installed at undisclosed intersections across Victoria by mid-2024, while two sets of point-to-point highway road safety cameras will be established according to the Department of Justice’s 2021-22 annual report.
These will come at a cost of $49.4 million to the taxpayer.
The first set of these cameras will be live in early 2023.
The Road Safety Strategy 2021-30 sets out to halve the number of lives lost on Victorian roads by 2030 and achieve zero fatalities on Victorian roads by 2050.
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