Mobile-Phone Detection Cameras? You Heard Right!

Although many of us here at 12 North usually prefer to stay out of mostly public political arena's for obvious reasons. Every once in awhile we just can't help but have to bring the peoples attention to something, explicitly if it involves anything with vehicles in nature.

Although to a degree the arguments surrounding phone usage in a vehicle could wildly take you off on several tangents and various opinions regarding either side of the aisle. We hope to just bring to attention this piece on whats going on and what can happen vs throwing our own opinions in the mix in the article itself. That is what the comments section is for and we certainly are hoping to see those comments there on this subject.

Now it may or may not surprise you of the tens of thousands of cameras used on our roads and highways across America, not to mention the ones used locally to you perhaps. Any camera can be used to multitask functions, statutes, and ordinance's for the use of monitoring of everything from traffic to loitering and all of the in between, it's just a written program and all the bureaucratic red tape to get through and often, well that's just a formality that gets trampled on in the name of 'revenue' disguised as "safety".

Currently this is already in place in Australia but let anyone in local Government or yet higher up and let the lobbyist get a hold of it and it could spread faster than a California wildfire from West to East coast! Think we're kidding?

The State, your State is already getting desperate trying to flog said citizens for revenue as it can, as someone into modified cars and trucks for decades I can attest to the hundreds of personal experiences that immediately violate your 4th and 5th amendment rights as is, and I'm keeping it simple. Given the opportunity; the mere changing of a song or touching a phone cable plugging in a charging port would constitute as "phone use" whilst driving, even at a light in traffic.

One person could drive texting away all day long, phone in hand, managing to stay alert in traffic. While yet another person couldn't change the radio station without being all over the road. Mobile phone use has contributed to accidents and maybe death and so has a squirrel running in front of your car; so has rain caused many more accidents. Do we all stop driving when it rains ? And so has eating, and talking to a passenger, as has daydreaming about your new girlfriend or boyfriend, sneezing, we could go on for dozens of paragraphs with this.

But back to our brothers and sisters down under, The Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Road Safety) Bill 2018 commenced on 1 July 2018. This Bill made amendments to the Australian law so that "any camera that is an “approved traffic enforcement device” can now also be used to detect mobile phone offenses. That means you can be detected using your phone by speed cameras, red light cameras, T-Way cameras, bus lane cameras, and even motorway toll cameras. The RMS cameras featured in many social media posts aren’t used for enforcement and therefore cannot be used to issue fines to drivers using their phones."

At this point is is stated that in Australia, you typically have an opportunity of "Requesting a review of Infringement Notice" to where you can have your infringement notice reviewed based upon a; possibly incorrect issuance, extenuating circumstances, or requesting leniency due to your impeccable driving record. In the case of cell phone usage however, "the need to deter mobile phone use while driving is so high that the offense is not eligible for a caution. NO reasons are accepted - you will need to go to court to dispute them."

So in an age and growing culture dependent on technology, you and those even dabbling in it are and or potentially going to be penalized for its use and introduction of it in your day to day lives. From telling thousands of followers what you had for breakfast, to asking where the nearest drive-through food outlet or ATM machine is. Now, we may soon penalize those who take advantage of modern technology? Myself have always said, "Government only gets its money one of two ways; they either tax the people for it [yes, citations and tickets are a form of excise taxation] Or they print it into existence", and since the local and State Governments are not going to go the extent of committing fraud by printing their own money - They're just going to tax you for it through penalties of fines and court costs when or if it was to reach our shores here.

We will be following this topic as it will grow and likely spread. Put your comments below and join the discussion.