Western Australia identified as being at the forefront of automatic number plate recognition technology to detect unlicensed drivers
June 13, 2013
Western Australia has been identified as being at the forefront of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to detect unlicensed drivers.
An Austroads report released today highlighted Western Australia’s use of ANPR technology and its role in detecting drivers without a licence.
The report, titled Developing Measures to Reduce Unlicensed Driving, also says unlicensed motorists had higher than average crash rates.
State Road Safety Minister Liza Harvey says 48 advanced traffic management vehicles (ATMVs) had recently been fitted with the latest ANPR technology in 2012-13.
“These ATMVs were purchased at a cost of $3.78 million. Each of these vehicles is fitted with four cameras and a computer and is able to check about 1,000 vehicle registration plates per hour,” she says.
Harvey says unlicensed drivers were involved in 13 percent of fatal crashes and 6 percent of serious injury crashes in Western Australia in 2012.
“Unlicensed driving, particularly disqualified driving, is also linked to a cluster of high-risk behaviours including drink driving, speeding and failure to wear seatbelts,” she says.
The Austroads report identified measures needed to reduce the prevalence of unlicensed driving, including improvements in the detection of motorists without licences and encouraging the uptake of licences.
Harvey says the Department of Transport is providing advice to those close to accumulating a specified number of demerit points.
