The purpose of the trial is to improve the effectiveness of catching offenders without the trial phase of immediately issuing a fine and potentially improving road safety. The cameras are designed to target dangerous driver behaviors such as speeding, seatbelt violations, and mobile phone usage.
AI-Integrated Road Safety Cameras
Mounted on trailers, the new cameras are designed to move beyond the limitations of old road traffic systems. The flexibility of the mounted cameras allows them to target high-risk areas, including accident hot spots and places that are challenging to observe. Road trailers with integrated AI and machine learning technologies can automatically scan and assess multiple lanes of traffic at the same time and identify violations with high certainty, including ones from within the cabin such as seatbelt unbuckling and distracted driving.
Trial Sites and Methodology
In Victoria Australia, a Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) is undertaking trials in different suburbs like Tottenham, Port Melbourne, Toorak, Caulfield South, and Heatherton. These trailers contain the same technology as the current mobile digital roadside safety cameras, just modified for operational flexibility and effectiveness. When the cameras are in trial mode, they do not issue fines, and assist authorities in determining the accuracy, safety, and ability to integrate to the wider Road Safety Camera Program.
Anticipated Benefits and Effects
This is one of the initiatives under the Victoria 2021-2030 Road Safety Strategy, with a vision to halve the Road deaths within the state by 2030 and completely eliminate them thereafter. The AI-Enabled cameras will assist law enforcement in actively deterring unsafe driving behaviors like driving without a seatbelt, calling, and distracting driving. Early applications in the rest of Australia show that AI cameras issued violation notices to tens of thousands of drivers, reinstated default fines, and encouraged driving behaviors that reduced crashes and fatalities.
How AI Technology Works
Real-time AI evaluations include assessing images and videos of vehicles and their passengers and determining phone and seatbelt rule violations. The AI minimizes errors by assigning confidence levels to exposures of detected rule violations. Special enforcement trailers also support enforcement of average speed surveillance by calculating driving speed between two enforcement trailer points. This feature is more sophisticated than traditional point speed surveillance. AI increase enforcement capabilities and reduce roadside risks by decreasing direct exposure of enforcement personnel to roadside violence.
Public Response and Future Outlook
Victorian authorities have indicated enforcement of fines is to follow for accurate systems, although the trial does not enforce fines. There is public discourse on fairness and privacy, while the road safety advocates note these devices save lives. The predictive ability offers a clear route to AI enforcement promotes elimination of road trauma and increase compliance of road laws. The devices are expected to be primary means of enforcement across Victoria and Australia.
Data Table: Victorian AI Traffic Camera Trial Overview
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Trial Period | July 2025 – 2026 |
| Trial Locations | Tottenham, Port Melbourne, Toorak, Caulfield South, Heatherton, Healesville, Oaklands Junction, others |
| Technology | AI-powered mobile trailer cameras |
| Monitored Offences | Speeding, seatbelt misuse, distracted driving (mobile phone use) |
| Fine Enforcement | Not during trial; planned after trial period |
| Objective | Improve road safety, reduce road deaths |
FAQs
Q1: Will the new AI cameras issue fines during the trial?
No fines are issued during the trial phase. The trial is to determine the cameras’ effectiveness and accuracy before fines are introduced. The trial phase is before enforcement begins.
Q2: What offenses will the new cameras be able to detect?
These cameras will capture instances of speeding, the use and over seatbelt, the use of mobile phones and other dangerous driving practices.
Q3: What locations in Victoria are trialing these AI-enabled traffic cameras?
Trial locations include suburbs such as Tottenham, Port Melbourne, Toorak, Caulfield South and Heatherton to name a few.
