Major camera change to roll out to city
Noise-activated cameras that capture images of cars driving dangerously could be rolled out across one city, following a spate of high-profile road deaths across NSW.
Sydney’s Bayside Council is set to trial the cameras in a crackdown on reckless driving, working with the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to roll out the new tech.
The cameras can take detect how much noise vehicles are emitting and can capture their licence plate information.
They are already in use in countries such as America and Israel.
The plan follows several devastating deaths across NSW roads over the past month, including a fatal crash in Monterey that claimed the lives of two boys.
A brother and sister were also killed in Heckenberg on Friday after a car allegedly travelling at “high speed” collided head-on with their vehicle.
Hi-tech licence plate recognition cameras were first trialled by Bayside Council in conjunction with local police several years ago in a bid to tackle “anti-social” behaviour.
The cameras were nicknamed “hoon-cams” for their effectiveness in tackling unwanted behaviour in the community, such as hooning and graffiti.
The council claims the number of incident reports and complaints had reduced significantly since the cameras were rolled out.
Mayor Dr Christina Curry said the proposed new camera technology would be particularly welcomed by residents living in the suburbs along the foreshore.
The local government area is 7-12km south of Sydney’s CBD and covers part of Botany Bay as well as a small portion of the eastern suburbs.
“Bayside Council is already using sophisticated hi-tech cameras incorporating licence plate recognition technology to help curb anti-social behaviour,” Dr Curry said in a statement.
“I believe we are well placed to take part in any trial of noise activated cameras.”
Over the past decade NSW’s EPA has worked to introduce a national scheme to impose noise limits on engine compression brakes.
The scheme will include the use of noise cameras which will be located in areas where nearby communities are most impacted by the noise.
The trial, which does not currently have a start date, is with the EPA for consideration.
