Highway Patrol to go hi-tech

HIGHWAY Patrol units will soon have the ability to detect unauthorised drivers, thanks to state-of-the-art integrated automatic numberplate recognition technology to be rolled out over the next three years.

Motorola will deliver 221 units to be fitted into all highway patrol vehicles.

The ANPR units include an in-car video system that will capture video footage for police officer safety and gathering evidence.

Road Policing Command Acting Assistant Commissioner Michael Grainger said the units would soon hit the road.

“There is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes to make sure the rollout is successful,” Mr Grainger said.

“In addition to increasing our ability to identify and remove dangerous drivers from the road, the inclusion of in-car video provides an evidentiary tool with audio and visual evidence able to be recorded and produced in court.”

A review of fatal collisions in 2016 revealed that unauthorised drivers were at fault in 16 per cent of cases and that almost 20 per cent of injury collisions involving an unregistered vehicle also involved an unauthorised driver.

It is expected the first five vehicles will be on the road in early 2019 with three further deployments completing the 221 unit rollout in 2021.