Busted: New camera captures drivers illegally using their phones every 30 seconds
A new hi-tech camera has captured one driver every 30 seconds using their mobile phone at the wheel on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The camera, which zooms in on drivers in traffic, was set up on a bridge approach by technology firm One Task as part of a joint investigation with The Daily Telegraph.
In one six-hour period from 8am to 2pm on December 12, the camera captured 743 drivers illegally using their phones – more than four per cent or one-in-25 of the 17,543 vehicles which passed by.
The shocking results on one of Australia’s busiest roads show how drivers are ignoring the laws prohibiting hands-on mobile phone use while driving.
Centre for Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon said speeding drivers using mobiles were becoming a deadly combination.
“An analysis by the Centre for Road Safety shows that having a mobile phone offence doubles a person’s risks of being killed or injured in a crash compared to someone with no history,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“It’s an even bigger problem than the stats show as we know that crashes involving phones are underreported due to the difficulty of obtaining evidence at crash scenes.”
NSW Police charged almost 39,000 people in 2016 for using their mobile phone while driving.
“Although it is groundbreaking research, it really only confirms what everyone knows, which is that texting while driving is out of control and as a society we need the government to take action,” Mr McCredie said.
One Task is trialling the cameras in Victoria and has presented the survey results to NSW Roads Minister Melinda Pavey and road safety officials. T
The company is also going to have talks with policy advisers from the office of federal Transport Minister Barnaby Joyce.