New cameras nab thousands of distracted drivers on phones
Despite low traffic due to the state’s lockdown, more than 1000 Victorian drivers have been snapped using their mobile phone at a single site in just one week during a three-month trial of new hi-tech detection cameras.
Police & Courts
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One in every 50 drivers has been snapped using their mobile phone in the first month’s operation of Victoria’s new hi-tech detection cameras.
More than 1000 motorists were nabbed using their mobile phone at a single suburban site in just a week.
The cameras — likely to be made permanent after a three-month trial — are detecting distracted drivers at twice the rate of when the technology was deployed in NSW.
The results are especially worrying because traffic is dramatically down and roads less congested, reducing the temptation for drivers to reach for phones if their vehicle is at a standstill.
Police Minister Lisa Neville told the Herald Sun: “This technology is already catching thousands of distracted drivers”.
“We know there are too many Victorians who continue to use their mobile phones while driving – putting not only themselves at risk, but other road users,’ Ms Neville said.
Figures show Victoria’s two phone detection cameras, deployed since July 29, assessed 200,000 drivers and caught 4000 offenders in the their first four weeks.
Photos show one driver with their phone in one hand and the other gesturing in the air while one man seemingly steers with his knees while typing with both hands.
The highest rate of detections was at Wollert in Melbourne’s north, where more than 1000 drivers on Craigieburn Road East were caught using their phone in a week.
The cameras — which can operate 24 hours a day in all conditions — are mounted on a retractable pole housed in a trailer so they can be moved around.
They have also been used at Kew, Keilor Park, Altona, Hillside, Laverton North, Albert Park and Bulla.
More metropolitan Melbourne and regional locations will follow.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said: “Even though there is less traffic on the road and congestion has eased due to stage four restrictions, these early results show that mobile phone use is an ingrained behaviour in Victorian drivers.”
“I cannot stress the importance of leaving your phone alone. The text message to your mate is just not worth the risk of getting caught, or worse, causing a serious collision,’’ Ms Murphy said.
The Sunday Herald Sun in February revealed phone detection cameras would be trialled amid research showing they would prevent almost 100 fatal and serious injury crashes a year.
No infringements will be issued during the trial, which aims to assess how the technology can be integrated with the existing road safety camera systems and ensure the cameras are effective so fines issued under a full rollout are accurate.
The penalty is $496 and four demerit points.
Number plate matching will not be undertaken and photographs taken will be deleted except for a limited number of de-identified images.
“This trial will help shape how we deal with mobile phone use moving forward and keep Victorians safe on our roads,’’ Ms Neville said.
“No text message, phone call or email is worth someone’s life.”
Phone detection cameras in NSW which use the same technology caught more than 100,000 drivers doing the wrong thing out of 8.5 million checks during a six-month pilot.
It equates to a strike rate of one in 100.
The rate has since improved to one in 300 as motorists heed safety warnings.
In Victoria more than 37,000 fines were issued for illegal phone use last year.
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