Aussies warned of costly road act as 11,400 drivers caught by new cameras

Drivers in one Australian state are being warned against a costly road act that is now being monitored by mobile phone detection cameras — and has resulted in a staggering 11,400 fines in the first 21 days being used to target new road rules.

The offenses, which attract a $410 fine and the loss of three demerit points on a driver’s license if they or their passengers are caught, relate to the improper use of seatbelts. The use of mobile phone detection cameras to capture seatbelt offenses began in New South Wales on July 1 and has prompted NSW Roads Minister John Graham to call the figures “shocking”.

The state followed Queensland which last year reportedly became the first jurisdiction in the world to roll out the dual capability software.

Among the offenses so far include unrestrained babies and children sharing seats with adults along with adults either incorrectly wearing seatbelts or not wearing seatbelts at all. The figures come just a week after 31,000 drivers in South Australia were also caught by new cameras.

But unlike South Australia, NSW politicians voted against implementing a grace period, which hits drivers with warning letters instead of fines, at the outset of the scheme.

Shocking figures expose ‘straightforward’ act Aussies aren’t doing

Roads Minister John Graham said that while most drivers are doing the right thing, a small percentage of don’t are putting themselves at risk.

“The vast majority of the 6.9 million drivers on NSW roads wear a seatbelt every time,” he said. “But the sad fact is that the small percentage of those who do not are twice as likely to die in a crash and are needlessly making up 15 per cent of all fatalities on our roads.

“We have a rising road toll in NSW and the simple act of putting a seatbelt on could save dozens of lives a year.”

According to the ABC, more seatbelt offenses were detected in three weeks than the total number of seatbelt penalties issued by NSW Police in 2023. It’s understood that money raised from the seat belt cameras — which is expected to be in the tens of millions — will also be reinvested into road safety programs.

NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury previously told Yahoo News Australia that getting in the car and not putting on a seatbelt is a “really serious matter.”

“Often it’s people who are in an impaired state, those people getting in the passenger seat after they’ve been drinking,” he said.

Mobile detection cameras pioneered in Australia used overseas

The AI-powered mobile detection cameras were designed in Australia and can be widely spotted across the country, and even abroad as governments attempt to curb rising deaths on our roads.

Along with NSW, South Australia, the ACT, Queensland and Victoria have introduced dual-capability tech.

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