Aussies ‘shafted’ in cops’ AI move

A hugely controversial shift toward policing via artificial intelligence is set to reap big cash rewards for the government as drivers pay the price.

COMMENT: Today is an average day for drivers.

Of all the jobs being taken over by artificial intelligence, policing is one we should be most wary about.

NSW has switched on average speed camera fines for all vehicles on parts of the Hume Highway and Pacific Highway – the main routes linking Sydney with Brisbane and Melbourne.

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NSW authorities are turning to average speed cameras.

It’s a move that will sting thousands of drivers for relatively minor speeding infringements, harming household budgets during a cost of living crisis.

It’s another drop in a bucket of ways drivers are being treated as a revenue source, and another step in the march toward outsourcing policing to computers.

It’s yet another example of drivers getting shafted.

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DEEPLY UNPOPULAR

I reckon it’s a disappointing move by a state that put prominent warning signs in front of mobile speed cameras, having recognised sneaky cameras tucked into the back of SUs were doing more harm than good.

And that they were deeply unpopular in the community. Authorities should not simply punish people who break the law – they should act as a deterrent to crime.

Police hidden on Alford's Point Bridge in the Sutherland Shire. Photo: David McCowen

Last year I filmed a viral clip of a black, unmarked highway patrol car blocking a cycleway to nab speeders.

It was a cheeky move that crossed a line.

But a highway patrol officer sitting by the side of a highway isn’t going to zoom onto the road and chase someone down to issue fines for 5km/h or less.

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There are plenty of examples online of people fined for speeding by less than 5km/h on Victorian highways.

The NSW government aims to reap more than $781 million in fines in the new financial year, including revenue from average speed cameras.

It might not get much from Tesla owners, as Elon’s EVs are capable of showing drivers their average speed in an enforcement zone, helping drivers avoid fines.

One of my favourite things about Tesla is the new features that come with the over the air updates. This time around the car tells you your average speed in an average speed zone and how long is left before the average zone ends pic.twitter.com/2e2daO2lqH

— Stuart Humphrey 💚⚡️🔋 (@humphbecket) May 10, 2024

But the government will pocket plenty of cash.

Preliminary data from a trial of average speed cameras on a 15km stretch of the Pacific Highway between Kew and Lake Innes in northern NSW and a 16km stretch of the Hume Highway between Coolac and Gundagai in the south of NSW showed that the number of drivers detected speeding dropped from one in 120-odd to one in 235 on the Pacific Highway and one in 194 on the Hume.

Trial sites for average speed cameras have been set up on the Pacific and Hume Highways. Both sites extend capabilities for speed cameras to detect speeds of both heavy and light vehicles. Picture: NSW Government

I’m sure that numbers will drop further as fines roll out from today.

Drivers deserve better than the ruthless efficiency of AI-powered robo-fines that won’t let minor infringements slip by.

From tomorrow, all speeding offences will be enforced by the average speed cameras in our two trial locations following a 2 month warning letter period.

If caught speeding by the cameras at these locations, you'll be fined & penalties may apply.

More: https://t.co/Kc7jIdrydfpic.twitter.com/uULpYM1k1X

— Transport for NSW (@TransportforNSW) June 30, 2025

The introduction of a new AI-powered speed camera in Tasmania has reportedly recorded a massive increase in fines – jumping from around 450 per year to 700 per week.

How many of those new fines were for minor offences?

Human highway patrol officers aren’t likely to fine people for minor infringements.

CAMERAS AREN’T COPS

They look to catch bigger fish – the people who pose a bigger risk to the community.

And they use judgement to look for signs of intoxication and other dangerous behaviour.

In the last month in NSW, highway patrol officers stopped a ute in Leichhardt and found the driver was an alleged drug dealer with 10 big bags of cannabis in the back.

Another officer had to practically carry a driver to the back of their patrol car after she blew six times the legal blood alcohol limit and couldn’t walk.

NSW Highway Patrol at Beat the Blue. Photo: Chequered Flag Photography

A blitz in Botany found six truck drivers with cocaine, meth or other illegal drugs in their system.

Rewinding a little further, in 2020 a highway patrol car stopped a van and found it contained 10 unrestrained passengers, including nine children.

Or there is the case of Queensland killer Christopher Puglia, who bludgeoned his parents to death with a sledgehammer and fled across the border to NSW.

He was stopped and arrested by the highway patrol.

Speed cameras won’t do any of that.

David McCowen is a motoring journalist.