Cameras which can identify high-risk behaviours including drivers using their phone while behind the wheel or not wearing a seatbelt are being trialled in a new area of Western Australia.
The Road Safety Commission has launched the two-week trial of mobile point to point safety cameras in Port and South Hedland.
The cameras can also detect spot speed and work together to detect average speed between two points.
As Australia’s first mobile point to point safety cameras, they have the flexibility to move as often as every few hours and will be trialled on a range of roads.
The move to the Pilbara region comes following a three-month trial of the cameras in the Perth metropolitan area as well as the Wheatbelt, Mid-West, South-West and Great Southern regions.
Key results from the three-month trial include:
- 1 million vehicles passed through the cameras
- 40,100 incidents of drivers using their mobile phone
- 7,800 incidents of drivers or front seat passengers not wearing their seatbelt
- 12,900 incidents of drivers’ average speed exceeding the posted limit (point to point).
“Insights from Port Hedland, together with other regions, will help us determine whether safety cameras capable of detecting multiple high-risk behaviours are likely to improve driver behaviour and road safety outcomes in WA,” said Rebecca Hamilton, the Road Safety Commission’s Director of Policy and Programs.
