South Australia has recently begun a trial program for cameras that stop drivers using their phones while at the wheel but how dangerous are distracted drivers and will the cameras help to curb road accidents?
Mobile phone detection cameras are being trialled for the first time in South Australia (SA) as the state government joins other states acting to reduce road trauma caused by driver distraction.
The SA government says mobile phone detection camera (MPDC) technology saves lives by detecting and deterring dangerous drivers who illegally use a mobile phone while driving.
Following a state government tender process, two potential mobile phone detection camera providers will trial cameras and related technology on South Road, Torrensville, from mid March week until late April 2023.
By the end of 2023, the new cameras will be operational, and a three-month grace period will follow. During this time, drivers caught using their mobiles will receive educational material instead of being fined.
Following the grace period, if caught, drivers will be subjected to a $565 fine, along with a $94 Victims of Crime Levy and a deduction of three demerit points. Once the new rules are live, money raised from the fine component will be contributed to a road safety fund.
So how do these types of cameras work? Most of them operate by capturing an overhead photo of a passing car that clearly shows the driver and front dashboard area. Artificial intelligence then analyses the image to determine whether the driver could be using their phone.
If the software records a positive result, it is then sent to a human for final confirmation before any fines are issued. So far no cameras rely entirely on software to issue fines.
South Australia Road Transport Association (SARTA) Executive Officer Steve Shearer says the trial is the right move for the state and that distracted drivers are too big of a risk for action not to be taken.
“Driver distraction is now the biggest driver of road failures.
“If it saves just one life it will be worth it,” Shearer says.
Transport and road bodies around the country agree that driver distraction is the biggest contributing factor to road accidents.
Shearer says heavy vehicle drivers are likely to appreciate the measures.
“Motorist using their phones while driving put heavy vehicle drivers at huge risk and so I’m sure the trucking industry will welcome the trial.
“Truck drivers also appreciate rules and regulation more than car drivers and would be accustomed to not using their phones while driving anyway,” Shearer says.
Indeed, thanks to the advancements in telematics many transport companies have already adapted to the ubiquity of mobile phones and have worked with their drivers to ensure they are not using their phones while driving and are able to answer and use their phones without picking them up – “hands free”.
Shearer says he expects many motorists to be receiving fines soon after the cameras are put in place.
“Too many people have gotten comfortable with using their phones while driving, which puts everyone at risk.”
Shearer believes it would be best to see the revenue from the cameras be put back into road safety initiatives.
Shearer says he expects to see more states trial the cameras as they have been proven to bring down road accidents caused by distracted driving.
“With Labor governments in power across the entire mainland of the country it would also be easier for them to enact a uniform road safety policy that could include phone detection cameras,” Shearer says.
The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) conducted research into the role of distracted drivers in accident data concluding that distracted driving plays a large role in the number of road crashes and subsequent road fatalities and injuries in Australia and globally.
The AAA says research has shown that in Australia, distraction is the main contributing factor in approximately 16 per cent of serious casualty road crashes and also suggests that distracted driving is as dangerous, if not more dangerous than drink driving.
It is a serious problem on Australian roads the association says, defining the phenomenon as any circumstance where the driver is diverting attention away from critical activities for safe driving towards another competing activity.
For their research the AAA also defined other types of distracted driving that don’t involve someone simply looking at a smart phone, but that also include other types of distraction.
They found distraction can be cognitive or mental (the mind is engaged with non-driving related tasks), visual (taking eyes of the road), auditory (noise that diverts attention), or manual (taking hands off the vehicle controls).
Phone detection cameras will only be designed to pick up on visual distraction involved in the use of a mobile phone.
The AAA also concluded that distraction causes increased reaction time (including braking), impairs a driver’s ability to maintain speed and lane position, and impacts the operational efficiency of traffic, bringing with it the potential to seriously and negatively impact a broad range of road users.
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Images similar to this are what MDPCs analyse to determine whether a driver is using their phone – Credit Acusensus website.
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Many other road safety bodies have looked into the issue of distracted drivers, including the National Transport Commission (NTC), which conducted a report into the effects of distracted driving on Australian roads and came to similar conclusions.
In a key findings paper published on its website the NTC describes how engagement in secondary tasks which take a driver’s ‘eyes off the road’ is considered to be particularly hazardous.
It says its research showed the problem is widespread, stating that a significant number of Australian drivers engage in distracting activities prohibited by road legislation while knowing that it could increase their risk of crashing.
The NTC report had the following insight into the problem:
- 21 per cent of drivers admitted that they use their mobile phones for non-driving activities e.g. internet browsing, texting, taking photos or using applications.
- The impairments from using a mobile phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 per cent
NTC identified problems with outdated road rules, the emergence of new sources of distraction such as smart watches, and a lack of clarity in road rules about unlawful behaviour.
With industry research outcomes so consistent about the effects of distracted driving on Australian roads many state governments have already been happy to implement MDPC systems.
Mobile phone cameras are already in operation in Queensland, Victoria, and New South Whales. Each states imposing their own fines and demerit penalty for drivers who are caught using their phones.
Queensland has the harshest laws handing out a $1,033 fine for drivers for using a mobile phone. The next state for Victorian which takes is four demerit points off distracted drivers caught using a phone along with and a $545 fine, while NSW has implemented a five demerit point penalty coupled with a $352 fine. Putting South Australia somewhere in the middle.
A review of the trial outcomes in SA will commence in May 2023, followed by a recommendation for a preferred provider to supply and install the cameras for operation as scheduled in early 2024.
Prospective providers are bearing the cost of the trial as part of the tender submission process.
Photography: Acusensus