√Mobile phone detection cameras on the cards for Victoria

The technology – which could raise up to $1 billion every year in fines – will improve local road safety, according to police.

Mobile phone detection cameras could soon be rolled out across Victoria, if the local government gets its way.

The technology – which is already in use in NSW and Queensland – uses discreet cameras to identify drivers illegally using a phone

or not wearing a seatbelt.

In Victoria, a $496 fine and four licence demerit points would then be issued to the registered owner of the car, who can pay the penalty or elect to go to court.

The state’s government has confirmed it will put legislation before the parliament later this week to approve the technology for its roads.

While police support the move and say it will significantly improve road safety, others have argued it represents an attempt to raise revenue.

Two years ago a three-month camera trial was carried out in Melbourne, which identified 679,438 vehicles breaking the law – equating to one in every 42 photographed drivers.

According to radio station 3AW, these figures suggest 15 cameras across the state could raise as much as $1 billion every year for local government coffers.

Mobile phone detection cameras were invented in 2013 by a man whose best friend had been killed by a motorist illegally using a device behind the wheel. You can read the full story by clicking here.

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