Up to 28,000 drivers in SA caught using their phone in the past three months

SA police say more than 28,000 drivers have been caught using mobile phones behind the wheel in the past three months.

Transcript

00:00Well, five cameras, just like the one behind me, has been catching South Australian drivers

00:07using their phones for the past six months.

00:09They're the eyes in the sky, aimed at keeping drivers' eyes on the road.

00:14And in the last three months to December, it's caught 28,000 people.

00:19It's 40,000 less, though, than during the grace period, when people didn't have to pay

00:24a $660 fine.

00:27But now they do.

00:28And more than 200 drivers were caught multiple times.

00:32In fact, one man was pinged 41 times, if you can believe it, totalling a fine of $27,000.

00:38Now, he has lost his licence, and police will be reviewing that case, but it is worth knowing

00:45that two more cameras are set for Adelaide next year.

00:48But South Australia isn't the only state where this is an issue.

00:53In Western Australia, there will be eight cameras rolling out next year, with penalties

00:58up to $1,000 from April.

01:01They were trialled in 2022, and they caught 66,000 drivers.

01:07And earlier this year, 24,000 drivers.

01:10Now, these cameras can also pick up other breaches, like people not wearing their seatbelts,

01:16or even passengers holding babies on their laps.

01:19The WA Road Safety Commissioner hopes that these cameras will help stamp out a culture

01:25problem he says on the roads, which has contributed to a massive 182 deaths on WA roads, the highest

01:33since 2016.

01:34Now, this technology is in place right around the country, so Australians everywhere have

01:40an incentive to keep their hands on the wheel and off of their phones.