True purpose of bizarre roadside camera on Aussie highway revealed

The black and yellow traffic device was spotted positioned along the Great Western Highway in Sydney's west. Here's what it is monitoring.

A yellow roadside camera is seen on the Great Western Highway in May Hill in Sydney.
Drivers were confused by this strange-looking roadside camera appearing on the Great Western Highway in May Hill in Sydney. Source: Facebook

Australians have debated the purpose of a new and rather strange-looking roadside camera that emerged on a busy state highway this week, as transport officials weigh in and put an end to the speculation.

A NSW motorist shared photos of the black and yellow device positioned along the Great Western Highway in Mays Hill, in Sydney's west, on Wednesday. "New kind of camera, probably for speed, not mobile phones. Not 100 per cent sure," the driver wrote beside the images, in an apparent effort to warn other motorists.

Photos show the device on tracked wheels perched on the side of the road, with police tape emblazoned on it and a large, satellite-looking device on top. What started as a simple public service announcement quickly sparked a flood of comments from drivers across the country, with people weighing in on what they thought the camera was being used for.

Most people speculated the device was on the hunt for speeding or mobile phone use. At least one person thought it was a "hoon camera for loud cars" which are currently being trialed in parts of the state, while somebody else hypothesised that it was a "traffic counting unit".

Meanwhile another suggested it's used primarily "in road work zones", with similar units being used in Queensland to monitor speed in such zones.

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Duncan Lucas, Executive Director of Road Safety Regulation in NSW, set the record straight confirming the device in the photo is being trialled to replace exisiting bus lane monitoring technology.

"Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has bus lane cameras in operation at various locations to help deter unauthorised use of bus lanes and T-ways, however the technology is reaching end of life," Lucas told Yahoo News.

A bus in a bus lane in Sydney's west.
Eventually, transport officials revealed the device is being trialled to monitor bus lanes, with existing camera technology due to soon be 'retired'. Source: TfNSW

"As a result, Transport went to market in late 2023 seeking expressions of interest for potential replacement of this technology, with a number of vendors responding."

Lucas said TfNSW is now investigating "a range of emerging new technologies to ensure we are at the forefront of improving bus lane enforcement" and journey reliability for passengers, using the most suitable and up-to-date systems available."

And drivers needn't worry about incurring any fines from the machines just yet.

"Absolutely no enforcement action is being undertaken during the testing of new technology," Lucas insisted. The device pictured is understood to be "one of a number of different types of technology" that vendors have responded with to TfNSW's expression of interest.

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