Okay, we need to get this out of the way: For reasons both legal and ethical, you shouldn’t look at your phone while you’re behind the wheel. Don’t do it! The upside of twiddling on Instagram while driving is potentially scoping a shithouse cheese platter posted by some normie you haven’t seen in person since 2013. The downside is potentially ruining several lives. No bueno.
That said, from this weekend, NSW drivers will have even less incentive to scroll through their feeds while waiting at a stop light.
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On Tuesday, NSW Transport announced a fleet of high-tech cameras will roll out across the state on Sunday, targeting drivers who fuck around on their phones while driving.
The cameras, attached to trailers or in fixed positions, can operate in all weather conditions and at any time of the day.
The tech uses AI to detect who may be using a phone while driving, with potentially incriminating photos will be sent to actual humans to assess. If that person decides you were, in fact, sliding into someone’s DMs while sliding into oncoming traffic? Well, baby, that’s a $344 fine – or $457 if you get caught so in a school zone – plus a minimum of five demerit points.
Notably absent: warning signs around the cameras, like the kind you might see before a speed camera. Speaking to 7 News, NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said it was vital for the cameras to be paired those signs, given their stated purpose of, you know, saving lives.
“These cameras must be about getting people to put down their phones, not taking away licences,” he said.
“We want people to change their behaviour behind the wheel – not three weeks later when they get a fine in the mail.”
Folks in Queensland better be on the lookout, too. The Brisbane Times reports that drivers pinged on their phones could face a $1000 fine from February 1, 2020, which is not exactly a great value proposition. QLD will also trial the cameras NSW is just about to roll out.
Once again, if you simply must shitpost, make sure you’re parked first.
