Australia's worst drivers caught on camera
<p>Western Australia's drivers have made headlines – and not the good kind – with police left shaking their heads and muttering “mind-boggling” after a high-tech camera trial captured more than 130,000 road offences in just six months.</p>
<p>The cameras, rolled out across hotspots since January 26, have been snapping everything from missing seatbelts to mobile phone acrobatics, with one driver managing the feat of being caught <em>81 times</em>. </p>
<p>Police Minister Reece Whitby laid out the astonishing numbers in WA Parliament on Tuesday, describing the evidence as “quite astonishing” and the rate of offending as “astounding”. “I cannot believe that one driver has been caught offending 81 times,” he said, no doubt wondering if that driver even knows what a road rule is.</p>
<p>In total, the AI-powered cameras – apparently more observant than some humans – spotted 50,000 people misusing seatbelts, and 75,000 using phones illegally. That’s 800 offences every single day. Makes you nostalgic for the days when traffic violations were rare enough to make dinner conversation.</p>
<p>Among the greatest hits caught on camera:</p>
<ul>
<li>A driver simultaneously drinking beer and using a mobile phone, while forgoing the inconvenience of a seatbelt.</li>
<li>A motorist smoking a glass pipe (yes, <em>that</em> kind).</li>
<li>Someone literally holding a child while driving.</li>
<li>A P-plater outsourcing steering duties to their passenger.</li>
<li>And a personal favourite: a driver cruising with their leg casually resting on the dashboard. Perhaps auditioning for <em>Australia’s Got Lazy Limbs</em>?</li>
</ul>
<p>“These cameras are the most advanced in the country,” Whitby said, showing off images of offenders mid-disaster. “They capture multiple offending within the cabin of the vehicle.” Unfortunately, they can’t yet capture common sense.</p>
<p>The Road Safety Commission backed the rollout, noting other states had seen massive behavioural shifts after similar tech went live. “Queensland saw nearly a 75 per cent drop-off in the first months after it introduced similar cameras,” said Commissioner Adrian Warner. “We are hopeful… there will be a significant shift in behaviour.”</p>
<p>One could argue that shift should probably start before you're caught 50 times.</p>
<p>For now, the cameras are still in “trial mode”, meaning over 44,000 caution letters have been issued instead of fines. But come October, the real fun begins – and by fun, we mean fines. A lot of them.</p>
<p>“If this continues at the rate we’ve seen, we are going to see revenue roll in like we’ve never seen it before,” Whitby warned, “and I’ll be gladly spending it on more safety measures.”</p>
<p>Translation: keep it up, and we’ll have gold-plated speed bumps and diamond-studded seatbelt reminders in no time.</p>
<p>So buckle up (correctly), put the phone down, and maybe – just maybe – don’t smoke anything while driving. WA’s new cameras are watching, and frankly, they’ve seen enough.</p>
<p><em>Images: WA Govt / Road Safety Commission</em></p>
