Detection cameras will mean $1000 fines for drivers caught on their phones
Queensland drivers will face fines of more than $1000 if caught using their phones as roadside detection cameras are rolled out across the state.
More than 15,000 people were detected to be illegally using their phones during a six month trial last year, and fines will be issued from November onwards.
Had fines been active during the trial, drivers would have forked out a total of more than $15 million.
The cameras will be active from the end of July and there will be a three month grace period during which drivers will be warned if found doing the wrong thing.
âResearch shows that if youâre driving distracted with a mobile phone, then itâs equivalent to driving at 0.07 to 0.1 blood alcohol in your system,â Transport Minister Mark Bailey said on Thursday.
The cameras also detect drivers and front seat passengers not wearing seat belts, which attracts a fine of just over $400.
âThese detection cameras will be anywhere, anytime in any part of Queensland, weâll be moving them around regularly,â Mr Bailey said.
Police are hoping the steep fines will help break the connection between people and their mobiles so theyâre not tempted to pick them up every time theyâre at a red light.
âThink of the number of times youâve been in traffic and the lights have gone greenâŚand the vehicle immediately in front of you hasnât worked it out because theyâre on the phone,â Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Ben Marcus said.
He said he wasnât surprised about the number of people found on their phones during the trial.
It takes motorcycle police âa minute or a minute and a halfâ to find a driver using their phone while on patrol, he said.
âYou drive along a highway and the vehicle in front of you is weaving in the lane, there is a very good chance theyâre on the phone,â he said.
Stay informed, daily
There will be no leniency for excuses with police operating on the rule that if the phone is in contact with the driver, whether it be in their hand or on their lap, itâs an offence.
The cameras work using an algorithm to detect anomalies which are then checked by police.
âPeople say it was an ice cream, it was a packet of cigarettesâŚthe technology tells you itâs a phone,â Mr Marcus said.
Two-thirds of Queenslanders admit to using their mobile phones illegally while driving, and distraction contributes to almost 20 per cent of serious injuries and 12 per cent of deaths on the stateâs roads.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
