A cop in every car: How our driving future could look in 2040

Discussion paper suggests future cars plying Australian roads will automatically dob in law-breaking drivers to police.

AUSTRALIA’S highest road transport authority has imagined a day in which there’s no need for police to watch our roads – because there will be an electronic cop hard-wired into every car.

A discussion paper released this week by the National Transport Commission imagines a time when cars will be able to police themselves.

“Indeed, with automated vehicles on our roads that are each equipped with a full array of sensors and detectors, there may be little need for on-road enforcement at all,” it says.

“Each and every automated vehicle could stream footage and other data of illegal or unsafe behaviour direct to enforcement personnel.”

Statistics show that last financial year, the NSW government earned $103 million from speeding fines and $71.8 million from red light camera offences, adding almost $176 million to the state’s coffers. In the first two months of this financial year, the state has already collected more than $38.4 million.

The paper identifies automation, shared mobility, the use of data and a shift in consumer demand as key factors likely to drive how our roads will look, and flow, in 2040.

The discussion paper will be used to kick-start government into thinking about future transport needs and the framework needed to make it happen.