Australia rolls out first ever cell phone detection cameras-
I know, it’s CNN, but occasionally they trip over something worth reading-
“Images identified as being likely to contain a driver illegally using a call phone will then be verified by authorized personnel, authorities said, noting that images captured by the system would be “securely stored and managed.”
Sure they will (sarc)
“For the first three months, drivers caught out by the technology will receive a warning letter, Transport for New South Wales said in a statement, after which offenders will face a fine of up to $344, or $457 in a school zone, and penalty points on their drivers license.”
“The NSW Government is serious about reducing our state’s road toll and rolling out mobile phone detection cameras is another way we will do this,” Andrew Constance, Minister for Roads said in a statement.”
Stop lying, it’s about generating revenue while finding a new way to invade people’s privacy.
As a semi retired truck driver who tries to minimise gear changes by looking well ahead I get sick of having to come to a stop at a green light and start off in first again because the car driver in front has decided to check their social status on the phone and ignore the green light. I think cell phone use when driving is distracting and can be darned dangerous. Heavens above, even I rear ended a car (gently and without damage) while checking a voicemail message some years ago and learned my lesson. Cell phones have an important part to play in society but the fixation with trivia on them has become ridiculous.
Definitely, but they could find a way to deal with it without growing the police state and adding yet another unmanageable set of laws on the books.
And now I hear more – the burden of proof of innocence following an allegation based on even a fuzzy and inconclusive picture falls on the driver, not the police. That’s simply wrong – the pic needs to be absolutely clear but we know they’ll try anything for a buck.
My friend in Brisbane was picked up for that business of glancing at his phone.
You don’t have to be using it. They sent him a fine of over $500 two months later including the late payment fine for the period of delay in their system
The guy is straight up. There was a time when you could actually talk to the Queensland Police, the nineties, while the NSW was a Police State.