Wearing a seatbelt will be enforced by existing mobile phone detection cameras from July 1 as the NSW Government bolsters efforts to counter the rising number of road fatalities across the state.
The simple act of correctly wearing a seatbelt while in a moving vehicle has been a legal requirement in NSW for more than 50 years, but data shows 150 people died while not wearing one in the five years between 2019 and 2023.
On average, 15 per cent of deaths on NSW roads every year still involve seatbelt non-usage, with 36 people tragically lost last year.
The enhancement of the state's world-first mobile phone detection camera network will allow for a July 1 start date to the cameras also enforcing the seatbelt laws for the first time, the NSW Government confirms today.
Unlike when other new enforcement technologies have come into effect, there will be no grace period of warning letters after the NSW Parliament voted against starting seatbelt detection cameras in warning mode when enabling legislation was passed last year.
Photos released from testing of the cameras show a small but persistent percentage of drivers and some passengers continue to flout the law and wear their seatbelt incorrectly, including with the sash below the arm.
Every dollar raised by seatbelt cameras will go back into road safety.
As of midnight Thursday 2 May 2024, 124 have been lost on NSW roads, which is 16 more than the same time last in 2023.
The NSW Labor Government has introduced a number of measures to counter the rising number of road fatalities, including:
- The demerit point trial to encourage motorists who maintain a spotless record over 12 months to have a demerit point removed from their record.
- Hosting the state's first Road Safety Forum of international and local experts.
- Last month we signed the National Road Safety Data Sharing Agreement to help support analysis of driver behaviour, and help the various state and federal governments work together to understand where the funding needs to go.
- Removing a loophole to force all motorists driving on a foreign licence to convert to a NSW licence within six months.
- Doubling roadside enforcement sites used for mobile speed cameras, with the addition of 2700 new locations where a camera can be deployed. Enforcement hours will remain the same.
Today marks the start of National Road Safety Week, an annual initiative of the Safer Australian Roads and Highways (SARAH) Group, which aims to highlight the impact of road trauma and ways to reduce it.
The theme for 2024 is All road safety is local - Drive So Others Survive.
For more information on National Road Safety Week.
Minister for Roads John Graham said:
"Seatbelts save lives, it's as simple as that. Wearing a seatbelt doubles a person's chance of survival in a car crash and the NSW Government is doing everything we can to make sure the simplest safety feature in a car is being used by everyone.
"It has been a legal requirement to wear a seatbelt in NSW since 1971 and it is frankly disturbing that a small minority of people are still not heeding the message. If camera enforcement can convince those people to buckle up we can reduce the 15 per cent of deaths that involve a belt not being worn.
"Camera enforcement will be a significant step to reducing needless trauma on the roads that comes at the cost of families, loved ones and the first responders who routinely deal with unimaginable tragedy.
"I am glad to announce the July 1 start date to seatbelt camera enforcement as we remember road trauma victims during National Road Safety Week."
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
"Despite five decades of enforcement and public awareness campaigns, on average more than 10,000 people a year are still fined by the NSW Police for not wearing a seatbelt. This has to change and we hope camera enforcement can be the catalyst.
"In the last five years, about 85 per cent of the deaths and 76 per cent of the serious injuries that occurred in crashes where someone wasn't wearing a seatbelt happened in country NSW.
"Driving in the country brings with it different challenges to city driving - longer distances are often covered on higher speed roads and we know that although country residents make up about a third of the NSW population they sadly make up around two thirds of deaths on NSW roads.
"The start of enforcement of seatbelt non-compliance by our mobile phone detection camera program will also reach regional roads - nobody is above the law and we want to see every single person wear a seatbelt and wear it correctly every single trip. We cannot overestimate how important wearing a seatbelt is to saving your life if the worst happens and you're in a crash.
"This National Road Safety Week I'm urging all regional road users to make safer choices."
