Mobile phone detection cameras will be installed on the ACT’s roads next year to reduce driver distraction and make the roads safer for all Canberrans, the ACT Government announced today.

Two fixed cameras will be located on Hindmarsh Drive and Gungahlin Drive, and three transportable cameras will be moved across Canberra, including Canberra Avenue, Tuggeranong Parkway, and Yamba Drive. Mobile phone usage will be enforced ‘anywhere, anytime’.

“Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for more than two seconds doubles the risk of a crash – mobile phones [are] too often … the source of that distraction,” said Chris Steel, ACT  Minister for Transport and City Services.

“A driver who looks at their phone for just two seconds while driving at 60km/hr travels 33 metres blind.

“In the past five financial years, ACT Policing has issued an average of 911 infringements and 260 cautions for using a mobile device when driving. The actual rate of offending is likely to be much higher.

“These new cameras, which will operate day and night in all weather conditions, will help ensure Canberrans understand that any time you take your eyes off the road to use your mobile phone while driving, you’re risking your own life and the lives of other road users.

“I strongly urge drivers to leave your mobile device alone when driving. Soon this technology will detect driver mobile phone use across our road network, and stiff penalties could apply.

“Every accident that results in serious injury or death is a tragedy for our community. When it comes to mobile phones and driving, it’s time to get your hand off it.”

The Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide provided advice on optimal locations for maximum road safety benefits of fixed and transportable cameras.

This included a review of ACT crash data to identify locations with a high prevalence of crashes or links to distraction.

Key stakeholders identified locations where vulnerable road users are at high risk, mobile device use is common, and enforcement using existing police resources has been difficult.

The ACT Government will undertake a comprehensive awareness campaign across TV, digital, radio, and out-of-home advertising.

The cameras will be used to issue warning notices before infringement notices are introduced in October 2023.

Acusensus Australia Pty Ltd has been selected to supply and operate the cameras following a comprehensive procurement process. Acusensus supplies this equipment to Queensland and New South Wales.

The ACT Government’s roll-out of mobile device detection cameras is another step towards its commitment to ‘Vision Zero’ with no deaths or serious injuries on Canberra’s roads.

Images detecting a potential offence will be automatically pixelated and cropped to only show a view of the driver. These will be reviewed by an artificial intelligence system, then a human operator before an infringement notice decision is made.

A robust range of security and privacy safeguards will be put in place governing the use and disclosure of the images.

Alexander Jannink, Acusensus’s founder and managing director, welcomed the ACT Government’s decision to adopt lifesaving smart camera technology to further enhance road safety.

“Mobile phone use is a major source of road casualties,” Mr Jannink said. “Our camera enforcement programs in other states are leading the way in changing driver behaviour and reducing road trauma, and I fully expect to see the same positive outcomes in the ACT as a result of this initiative.”

For more information, visit Road safety – City Services (act.gov.au).