Police officers in Australia are ready to crack down on drivers who install a common electronic in their vehicle. Although drivers put up dashboard cameras to help keep themselves safe while on the road – and to protect themselves from people who might try to get away with a crime – police are now prepared to hand out fines to anyone who has a dash camera without proper approval from a legal entity.
One motorcyclist from Sydney learned about the new rule after his helmet camera was obtained by the police. Because he had a camera on his helmet, police fined him numerous times for a total of more than $75,000. They seized his helmet camera, too. Although most drivers use dash cameras to record what’s going on, police are not happy with the new technology. Now, officers are able to confiscate drivers’ memory cards from their dashboard cameras as well as levy a fine – even though drivers use these cameras to gather evidence in the case of an accident or as proof of someone else’s dangerous driving.
It was this past September when the new rule began to go into effect. North Sydney Highway Patrol charged a 23-year-old man for “driving at a speed dangerous to the public.” The person was going more than 45 kph or nearly 30 mph over the speed limit, which put people’s lives in harm’s way. The driver was going 162 kph in an 80 kph zone.
When police seized the driver’s camera, they obtained evidence of him speeding numerous times, which they were able to use as evidence against him.
“At the time of the incident, police observed that the rider was wearing a video camera and was filming his riding,” said a post on the NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Facebook page. “Due to the seriousness of the offense, police seized the memory card from the camera as evidence.”
Now, according to Peter Khoury of the NRMA, Australian police are ready to seize more dashboard cameras. They may even be able to use them to accumulate evidence against drivers who are violating the laws.
“I think the likelihood is that it’s going to continue. It will be used increasingly,” he told Daily Mail Australia. “The important point is just assumed there are eyes on you all the time. What we’re seeing here now is not just other people’s dash cams being used to crack down on bad behavior, but also your own [camera].”
Khoury said that it is entirely legal for police to seize dashboard cameras. He warned drivers to be careful if they have one installed.
“The message to the public has to be, be careful. It would appear [the police] are using it for the most extreme forms of dangerous behavior, and I don’t think the public would have a problem with that.”
Recently, the NRMA conducted a survey of more than 2,000 drivers and found that about 13 percent have some sort of dashboard camera.
“That demonstrates there are more and more sets of eyes on people as they’re driving, so it’s really important that you do the safe thing and the right thing,” Khoury said.