Parents in Western Australia are continuing to speak out against the state’s new AI-driven seatbelt cameras, with one Perth dad describing them as an “outrageous overreach”.
Perth father Nick became one of the latest parents to be penalised for a child’s minor misdemeanour when he received a $550 fine in the mail earlier this month.
In January, while he was driving to the beach along the Kwinana Freeway, Nick’s 12-year-old daughter briefly slipped her seatbelt under her arm to pull her hair into a ponytail.
That momentary adjustment was captured by an AI camera. The result? A $550 fine and four demerit points issued to his partner, the registered owner of the vehicle.
“I didn’t even notice that my daughter was doing her hair or that the seatbelt had slipped behind. It was just that split second,” Nick told nine.com.au.
Nick said he was driving four girls to the beach in the car at the time, and he was focused on the road.
“A lot happens in a car full of kids; it’s a pretty active place to be,” he said.
Nick’s experience comes after another parent, mum Leesa Taylor, told 9News Perth last month that she could lose her licence after her daughter, who has ADHD, shifted her seatbelt during a long drive from Dunsborough to Perth.
Taylor said she was shocked by an eight-demerit point penalty, arguing that the current system fails to reflect “real-world parenting” or the specific needs of neurodivergent children.
Cameras which use artificial intelligence to detect potentially unlawful mobile phone and incorrect seatbelt use were rolled out across Western Australia last year, with an initial six-month ‘warning only’ period ending in October.
Between then and February 18, a staggering 75,000 infringements have been issued for seatbelt and mobile phone offences.
The fines are sent to the driver after being reviewed by police.
Nick believes the technology, originally intended to target dangerous mobile phone use and unbuckled passengers, is now being used to penalise minor movements.
“They are now looking into our cars with their cameras and it’s a fine line,” he said.
‘”Kids turn around all the time in the front seat. You try to tell them not to, but what are you going to do, bolt them down so they don’t wriggle?
A spokesperson for the Road Safety Commission defended the technology, noting that the cameras have already led to a 70 per cent drop in the rate of offences detected since they began operating 12 months ago.
“As predicted, the cameras have revealed new insights into driver and passenger behaviour that hasn’t been captured on scale before,” the spokesperson said.
“The cameras are proving to be extremely effective and efficient as a road safety tool in helping to… make WA roads safer.”
However, speaking to 9News Perth last month, Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner admitted to that the current “one size fits all” approach may need to be adjusted.
“I can very much understand where [parents are] coming from. The volume of appeals and questions that we’re getting to the helpline is increased,” Commissioner Warner said.
The Commission is now exploring “different standards” for adults versus minors, acknowledging that children cannot always be held to the same rigid physical standards as adult passengers.
For now, however, the heavy fines remain.
Parents who feel they have been unfairly targeted are being told to lodge a formal submission with the Department of Transport or prepare for a day in court.
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