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.

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“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.”

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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.

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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.