DOWNLOAD THE FREE LiSTNR APP
Getty Image

Sydney, Why We Are All Losing Our Licences

Put your hands up if you and your friends recently lost your driver’s licence in Sydney.

Licence suspension could have a significant impact on people, particularly on tradies and young families who need their cars every single day.

In Australia, licence suspension was consistent with 10 and 14 thousand per financial year.

However, a LiSTNR exclusive story has discovered that Sydneysiders are losing their licence at a higher rate in history, with 71 per cent in the past two years.

In 2021, there was a 40 per cent increase, with 18,309 people who lost their licences. Last year, the figure jumped to 22,316 people.

Why is this happening? What has changed in the road rules? What is the purpose of these laws? Are there any hidden rules we don’t know? Does the government make strict rules to charge more money, or is it to save lives?

Click the link below to find out why more of us are being taken off the roads:

In today’s episode of THIS ARVO IN SYDNEY, host Sacha Barbour Gatt and SCA investigative journalist Joey Watson have disclosed the reason behind the soaring number of licence suspensions, the primary traffic detection tools in NSW, and the purpose behind these laws.

RELATED:   Google, Meta and X react to Australia's social media ban 

Watson started his investigation after his licence was suspended last month. He found that people who lost their licence were captured mainly by two traffic monitoring tools, including mobile phone detection cameras and mobile speed cameras. 

The mobile phone cameras aren’t super controversial, they’re not widely used overseas, but most people would argue that if you’re using your phone, you should pay the price,”

Watson said.

Watson said licence suspensions over mobile speed cameras had become a “political hot potato” since the government removed all warning signs for mobile speed cameras.

If you’re not across it, mobile speed cameras are this fleet of 140 odd privately owned cars contracted by NSW police to park on the side of the road to nab people speeding,”

he said.

Instead of having mobile signs with the mobile vehicles telling people to slow down … they just sat secretly looking like any other parked car.”

For your daily hit of Sydney news in under 12 minutes, subscribe and listen to This Arvo in Sydney