A three-month warning period starts on Friday for mobile device detection cameras.

From today, motorists detected using their mobile device by the cameras will receive a written warning before infringements and demerit points start being issued from February, says the ACT government.

More than 39,000 drivers have been detected by the three transportable road safety cameras  introduced on Canberra’s roads in February this year, along with a fixed camera on Hindmarsh Drive (near the Monaro Highway overpass) in June.

A second fixed camera will be installed on Gungahlin Drive (near the Barton Highway overpass) by the end of 2023.

The government says that number translates to the cameras detecting more than 150 people breaking the law daily when they get behind the wheel.

The cameras will detect:

•    a driver of a vehicle holding a mobile device in their hand at the ear or above the shoulder,
•    a driver holding a mobile device by resting the device between the ear and the driver’s shoulder,
•    a driver holding a mobile device in their hand or hands, including where it is held at chest level or below, 
•    a driver touching, but not holding, a mobile device with their hand where the device is not secured in a mounting affixed to the vehicle, and 
•    a mobile device that is resting on any part of the body of a driver whether or not the device is also touched or held (except where the device is in a pocket of the driver’s clothing or in a pouch that is worn by the driver). 

Nevertheless, police are still issuing infringements to drivers they detect illegally using their mobile phone. The warning period only applies to mobile detection cameras.

Officer in Charge of ACT Road Policing, Acting Insp Mark Richardson says driver distraction is one of the fatal five, the leading contributors to fatal collisions on the roads.

“In the three seconds it takes someone to read a text message or social media post, a vehicle going 60km/h travels about 50 metres, and can cause irreparable damage to both a driver and other road users,” he says.