New South Wales only turned on seatbelt detection cameras a month ago, but road safety devices are already picking up potentially deadly behaviour.
Between July 1 and July 21, more than 11,400 fines were issued by seatbelt detection cameras in New South Wales, with the state’s transport department saying about three-quarters of the offences were related to improper seatbelt use.
To put that into perspective, New South Wales Police issued fewer seatbelt-related fines throughout 2023 than the cameras recorded in just three weeks.
If current rates of non-compliance continue, the NSW Government estimates more than 100,000 seat belt fines will be issued in the first 12 months after the cameras are introduced.
According to the state government, incidents caught by the cameras included “infants being held and fed in the front seat without being buckled in, multiple children not buckled in the front seat with adults, and multiple instances of improperly buckled seats.”
11,400 penalties were issued from 8.3 million vehicles detected by the cameras, equivalent to 1 in 700 drivers caught violating.
While this figure represents just 0.14 per cent of motorists travelling in the state, it is estimated that 15 per cent of all road deaths in New South Wales between 2019 and 2023 will be due to occupants not wearing seat belts.
The New South Wales government also noted that seatbelt non-wearing rates were about 250 per cent higher than expected before the mobile phone camera network picked up the offences.
“I’m surprised the figure is so high,” New South Wales Roads Minister John Graham said.
“We know there is a problem with seat belt compliance among a small proportion of drivers and passengers, but the reality is that the situation is worse than expected and we need this to be a wake-up call.
“Today, I want to send the strongest message possible that if you won’t do it to save yourself a $410 fine and three demerit points, do it for the safety of your loved ones by wearing a seatbelt at all times, and making sure everyone in the car does the same.
“The vast majority of the 6.9 million drivers on NSW roads wear a seatbelt at all times, but the sad truth is that the small proportion who don’t wear a seatbelt are twice as likely to die in a crash and account for 15 per cent of all deaths on our roads.
“NSW road fatalities are rising and the simple act of wearing a seatbelt could save dozens of lives each year.”
New South Wales is the latest Australian state to roll out seatbelt detection cameras, following Queensland in August 2021, Victoria in April 2023 and Tasmania in August 2023.
The introduction of the technology comes amid a rise in road fatalities in New South Wales, which reached 358 in the 12 months to July 2024, up 23 per cent on the same period last year.
This defies the state remove a minus point from the records of 1.2 million drivers to encourage road users to avoid further offences during a trial from January 2023 to 2024.
In the MayThe New South Wales government has announced it will soon install 2,700 more mobile speed cameras for operators to set up and catch speeding drivers – double the current number of locations.
THAN: More speed camera locations, seat belt detection technology coming to Australian states
