Cutting edge cameras to make WA roads safer

• Six cutting edge mobile point to point safety cameras to be rolled out in WA following successful trial
• 66,000 drivers detected on their mobile phone by six cameras in six months
• 11,400 people detected not wearing a seatbelt
• Cameras to be funded with $11.2 million from the WA Road Trauma Trust Account
  

Six cutting edge, mobile point to point safety cameras will be deployed across Western Australia as part of the McGowan Government's ongoing efforts to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

Police Minister Paul Papalia said the cameras would be set-up in pairs across a range of locations to calculate if the average speed of a driver between two points exceeds the limit.

The results from a six-month trial of six safety cameras are compelling. The cameras were paired at three locations and monitored a total of 8 million vehicles in 94 locations across WA. There were around 42,000 drivers that were detected committing an average speeding offence.

The cameras can also detect mobile phone use and seatbelt offences. A staggering 66,000 drivers were detected on their phones by the devices during the six-month trial, compared with 4,909 drivers across the entire State in 2021.

Almost 10,000 of those drivers caught using a mobile phone were repeat offenders.

No actual infringement notices were issued during the trial. If they had been then a total of 120,000 demerit points would have been issued to errant drivers.

In WA, 100 per cent of the money generated by automated traffic enforcement fines is placed into the Road Trauma Trust Account, which is then spent on initiatives and resources to increase road safety, like the six new cameras.

Comments attributed to Police Minister Paul Papalia: 

"The results from the safety camera trials speak for themselves and are very concerning.

"What they show us is that we need these high-tech eyes on our roads to discourage the tens of thousands of repeat offenders who are putting themselves and others at risk of serious injury or death.

"The worst recidivist driver during the trial was caught so many times they would have been issued 80 demerit points.

"Around 2,000 driver licences would have been lost in total.

"Our Western Australian Police Force does a fantastic job keeping the community safe. This is just another tool which the McGowan Government hopes will continue to save lives and change driver attitudes."

Minister's office - 6552 5600