Drivers on NSW roads will soon find themselves caught in an even wider enforcement net, with the state’s transportable mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras set to start scanning traffic in both directions on single lane roads from Sunday, 1 March.
The upgrade increases the ability of the current 10 transportable camera units.
Prior to the change, the cameras were only able to scan traffic in two lanes moving in one direction at a time.
With the bi directional option turned on, the same cameras will be able to take photos of traffic moving in and out of selected locations, effectively doubling the coverage area without having to add more cameras to the system.
According to Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray, the upgrade is necessary to keep up with the growing number of vehicles on the road.
Murray cited a near 12% increase in the number of registered vehicles since the program started in 2019, from 6.7 million to 7.5 million, making the original target of coverage increasingly difficult to meet.
He reported that the initial data indicates enforcement and awareness are working to change the behavior.
In 2025, one in every 1,200 vehicles screened was found to be using a mobile phone illegally, down from as many as one in every 400 when camera enforcement began.
Seatbelt offenses, added to the camera enforcement program in 2024 were detected at a rate of one in every 1,300 vehicles screened in 2025, Murray said, citing data.
More NSW News: Sydney measles tally rises as two new cases confirmed
The roll out of the new camera capability is expected to take up to six months, although fixed mobile phone and seatbelt cameras are not affected by the change.
Seatbelt compliance is an important area of focus for road safety authorities, with the NSW Government reporting that each year, 29 people are killed and 76 seriously injured on NSW roads because they were not wearing a seatbelt.
