Mobile phones can be incredibly dangerous if they are used while driving. New South Wales might have discovered the solution to this issue. According to Transport for New South Wales, the first mobile phone detection cameras were “launched” last Sunday.
“It’s a system to change the culture,” the NSW police assistant commissioner, Michael Corboy, told Australian media last week. The cameras are supposed to work in any conditions, regardless of the weather, and they operate at all times.
More than 3000 drivers were caught
The cameras had impressive results. In just a single week, the mobile phone detection cameras captured more than 3000 drivers.
“At 60km/h if you look at your phone while driving for just two seconds, you travel 33 meters blind – it’s dangerous, it’s stupid, and it needs to stop, explained the roads minister Andrew Constance. The government hopes to prevent crashes in the following years, and reduce road fatalities down by 30 percent by 2021. This year 329 persons died in New South Wales.
Voice calls are legal in New South Wales, but drivers must use a hands-free device for this. Using the phone in any other way while driving is considered illegal. During the first three months, drivers will only receive warning letters when they are caught using their mobile phones while driving. However, after the three months are over, offending drivers will receive a $344 fine. The fine is $457 if the offense takes place in a school zone. For both cases, penalty points will be earned by drivers.
Every day, around 500 drivers are getting caught by these cameras, and they are doing something wrong. By using double demerits starting on Friday, they need drivers to get the message and get off the phone. In case they don’t do so, they risk killing themselves or someone innocent on the road.
