Should New Zealand adopt mobile phone detection cameras?

Tuesday, 12 May 2020

New South Wales is a showing that Aussie motorists still haven't got their heads around the dangers of texting and driving after installing mobile phone detection cameras that have raked in more than AU$7.1 million (NZ$7.55 million) issued in fines over just two months.

Those two months also come after a one-month grace period where motorists were given warnings instead of fines.

According to Channel Nine News, 11,790 fines were issued in March alone, while April saw another 9000 drivers cop tickets, despite fewer cars being on the roads.

In case you weren't aware, this is not safe.

In NSW, the minimum penalty for holding a phone while driving is AU$344 (NZ$365) and five demerits. The money figure goes up to $457 (NZ$485) if caught in a school zone.

**READ MORE:

* Ticket numbers increase as police target 'high risk areas'

* Snapped on the road: Could mobile phone detection cameras be introduced in NZ?

* Two speed cameras, two days, 302 speeding vehicles

* Thousands of speed cameras necessary part of the road toll solution

That's the passenger steering while the driver fires off a quick text. Don't worry, Tinder will still be there when you stop driving.

Controversially, the cameras aren't forewarned by signs like speeding cameras are. The huge amount of fines has, perhaps unsurprisingly, reignited calls for the cameras to be signposted.

'It's clear many drivers haven't got the message,' NSW Shadow Transport Minister John Graham told Nine News.

'This is a dramatic number of fines… We need to educate drivers. We support the cameras but with signage at the side of the road.'

However, Bernard Carlon, of the Centre for Road Safety, says there is value in not having camera locations signposted.

'We know that the deterrent effect of people thinking they're going to get caught anywhere at anytime is actually working,' he said.

The cameras use artificial intelligence to automatically review images and detect offending drivers using their phones. They work both day and night and in all weather conditions.

So should New Zealand consider installing similar cameras? Stuff reached out to the Ministry of Transport and Brent Johnston, Manager of Mobility and Safety replied with the following statement:

Distracted driving is a very important road safety concern. The ‘Road to Zero’ road safety strategy launched earlier this year prioritises road policing, continuing education campaigns aimed at informing the public about the dangers of distracted driving and includes a review of road safety fines for distracted driving, such as driving while using a mobile phone.

As part of the Government’s ‘Tackling Unsafe Speeds’ package, the management of the safe speed camera network will transition from NZ Police to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. This means investments into new cameras and new technologies will be operational decisions for Waka Kotahi to make once the ownership and operation of the camera network has been transferred. The agency will take an incremental, risk-based approach to assess the right mix of new cameras to roll out on the network. This will allow camera investment proposals to be incorporated into the broader Waka Kotahi speed management planning and consultation process.

Over the next few years Waka Kotahi will be upgrading their processing systems and investing in safety camera technology new to New Zealand, such as average speed (or point-to-point) cameras. As part of this process, further consideration will be given to mobile phone detection cameras.