Phone detection camera locations revealed
The new mobile phone detection cameras have caught more than 3,000 drivers illegally using their phones behind the wheel on NSW roads within their first week of operation.
Speaking on 2GB, Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said eight of the new cameras had been turned on at the start of December on Sydney Harbour Bridge, capturing 179 motorists using phones in four days.
126 drivers were caught out in Nowra, while 210 were caught in Lucas Heights in Sydney’s south.
Unlike speed cameras, there are no signages for mobile phone cameras.
Constance said the result indicates “a worrying trend”.
“We just need everybody to know that it is equivalent to driving drunk at .08 if you are on a mobile phone behind the wheel of a car,” Constance said.
“Even if you look down and text for two seconds travelling at 60km per hour, you are going to have your vehicle move 33m on a roadway or in a local backstreet without paying any attention.
“When you get up into those higher speeds your car travels even further distance without any attention being paid.”
The cameras checked 773,532 vehicles during their first week to catch 3,303 motorists illegally using their phones while driving in various locations across the state, news.com.au reported.
Drivers caught out by the cameras will not incur a fine or demerit points until the grace period ends in March 2020. From then, motorists will receive a $344 fine and five demerit points.
Executive Director of Transport for NSW’s Centre for Road Safety Bernard Carlton said the program has proven effective in deterring more drivers from committing the act.
“There’s been a reduction in the number of people offending since the pilot,” Carlton told 2GB.
“The education is working, less people are offending.”