Safety camera enforcement to start 8 October

West Australian drivers have been given notice that cutting-edge safety cameras that can detect mobile phone, seatbelt and speeding offences will start issuing infringement notices and fines/demerit points from October 8.

Over the course of a seven-month caution notice period, there has been a notable decrease in offences detected by the safety cameras.

Between February and August, mobile phone offences detected by the safety camera trailers have dropped nearly 60 per cent and those detected by fixed cameras dropped by 33 per cent.

Seatbelt offences detected by the trailers also dropped by 34 per cent and 41 per cent by the fixed cameras.

Speaking from Bunbury today, Road Safety Minister Reece Whitby said the caution period had allowed drivers to adjust their behaviour without immediate financial penalties, while building community awareness of the new technology.

"Ending the caution period and starting infringements marks a significant step forward in efforts to reduce road trauma and save lives on our roads,” he said.

"I thank those who have already changed their behaviour. Road safety is an important community issue, and it is pleasing to see Western Australian drivers doing their part to keep themselves and other road users safe.”

Six safety camera trailers operating in the Perth metropolitan area, Great Southern and Mid West, and fixed cameras on the Kwinana Freeway have detected more than 275,000 mobile phone, seatbelt and speeding offences since February.

The safety camera program is funded through the Road Trauma Trust Account, which sees 100 per cent of safety camera infringements allocated to projects and programs which reduce injuries and deaths on Western Australian roads.

Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner said to the vast majority of WA’s 2.2 million drivers, it would seem unthinkable that some fellow drivers still do not make the simplest and safest decisions when getting in a car.

“Seatbelts save lives, but they must be worn and they must be worn correctly to work,” he said.

“While more than 99 per cent of people are doing the right thing – the fact is, over the past decade, on average 20 per cent of people who died in a crash weren’t wearing a seatbelt.

“It’s time to wear your seatbelt properly and put the phone away”
More information about safety cameras can be found here.