Thousands of Canberrans will receive a rude shock when the cameras are switched on

The latest data capture by the camera technology reveals there were nearly 30,000 drivers detected using a handheld device improperly in their car over the past six months. And more recently the offence rate has risen, with well over 5000 per month over the past four consecutive months.

Hindmarsh Drive at Symonston, where the detection cameras are fixed to an overhead gantry, is by Canberra's worst mobile usage hotspot, reporting an average of 103 detections per day. Parkes Way at Acton recorded 63 offences per day, and the Tuggeranong Parkway 54 every 24 hours.

The average offence detection rate in the ACT is running around 4 per 1000 vehicles scanned.

The ACT government has committed $9 million over five years to the camera program and expects them to generate a windfall in fines over the next few years.

In this year's ACT Budget, it was revealed the government expects to collect $51 million in traffic fines in the 2023-24 financial year, rising to $65.9 million in 2024-25 and $104.1 million in 2025-26. Insiders say a significant proportion of this additional revenue will come from the cameras.

While Canberra motorists have enjoyed a lengthy period of "grace" from camera-issued fines and demerits, the government has advised that an announcement on when warning notices will commence will be made in the coming weeks "and an exact date will be provided to the community ahead of time".

"The warning period will run for three months and infringements will not be issued ahead of February 2024," it said.

During the three-month "grace" period, errant motorists will be advised that they were detected but without fines levied or points deducted.

ACT police expressed their disappointment at such a continued high detection rate.

The officer in charge of ACT Road Policing, acting Inspector Mark Richardson drivers were continuing to risk their lives by using mobile devices while driving.

"Every driver knows using a handheld mobile device in a vehicle is not only an offence, it puts them, their passengers and other road users at risk," he said.

"At 60kmh a car will travel 50 metres in three seconds while you are looking at your mobile screen. This is more than enough time to miss a red light, or cross the wrong side of the road or to not see a pedestrian.

"We urge each and every Canberra driver to concentrate on driving, put the phone in a place where it can't be accessed while driving and to consider their own safety and the safety of others."

The transportable cameras under lease to the ACT government are trailer-sized, highly visible to passing traffic, and are painted in flourescent yellow. The gantry cameras on Hindmarsh Drive and Gungahlin Drive are less visible.

The Australian-developed Acusensus special all-weather imaging system can capture photos in adverse conditions, such as against a rising or setting sun, and even in light rain or mist.

Detections are defined as when the camera's AI identifies a device held in the hand, in the lap of the driver, or in some way used by the driver (such as pinned by a shoulder to the ear). Under traffic laws, any such devices used in a car must be secured within a phone holder or cradle and not touched by the driver.

The first camera appeared in the ACT in February this year, where it was installed on the Majura Parkway for eight weeks of calibration and commissioning.

Those early results then convinced the ACT government to commit to three mobile and two fixed cameras, and within five months the technology had screened more than 3.7 million drivers.

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