Victoria’s road safety camera program playing a ‘critical role in changing driver behaviour and preventing road trauma’

Artificial intelligence-enabled cameras are being rolled out on Victoria’s roads to catch drivers using mobile phones and not wearing seatbelts.

New hi-tech mobile phone and seatbelt cameras will be rolled out this week on Victoria’s roads, in a bid to slash the state’s mounting road toll.

Two mobile phone and seatbelt detection camera trailer systems will go live on Friday, it can be revealed.

The artificial intelligence-enabled cameras will be deployed to as many as 200 sites across metropolitan, rural and regional Victoria for several days at a time.

Their locations will be based on crash history, engineering and environmental suitability and existing enforcement options.

The cameras will be deployed to as many as 200 sites across Victoria. Picture: Supplied

Disobedient drivers will be given a three-month leeway period before Victoria Police start issuing fines and applying demerit points.

Additional trailers will be deployed from mid-2023, at a total cost of $33.7 million to the taxpayer.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Justice and Community Safety said the cameras were essential to enhance road safety.

“Victoria’s road safety camera program plays a critical role in changing driver behaviour, preventing road trauma and reducing the number of lives lost on our roads and this new legislation ensures cameras can now tackle the growing risk of drivers using mobile devices or not wearing seatbelts,” a department spokeswoman said.

“Driver distraction is estimated to be the contributing factor in 11 per cent of road fatalities and the cause of over 400 serious injuries 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.

A 2020 trial of the technology in Victoria found one in every 42 drivers illegally used their mobile phones behind the wheel.

The OneTask MobiCam software has successfully been used in a distracted driver trial in the Netherlands, with Victorian authorities hoping it can help curb the state’s road toll by as many as 95 deaths per year.

A total of 77 people have lost their lives on Victorian roads this year, compared to 58 this time last year.

The road toll is up 32 per cent year-on-year and well above the five year average of 59 lives lost.