Vape mistaken for mobile phone by AI camera, teen girl says in fine fight

A teenage motorist insists a traffic ‘smart camera’ mistook her vaporizer for a mobile phone as she battles a $1,078 fine.

Lillian Morrow, 19, was photographed on Brisbane’s Pacific Highway in August by a newly installed ‘covert’ camera on the roof that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect infringements such as mobile phone use by drivers and issue automatic fines.

Ms Morrow took to social media to signal her outrage, claiming the machine was wrong and that she would fight the expensive fine in court, which will also take away four demerit points.

Lillian Morrow, 19, claims a so-called ‘smart’ traffic camera mistook her vaping for using a mobile phone while driving

‘Hi guys! Does anyone here know the wait time for a ticket to be heard in court?’ she wrote in a Facebook post.

‘I chose to have the matter heard in court almost a month ago, I haven’t heard anything.

“Clearly, I’m holding my trusty vaporizer and my phone is on the passenger seat.”

Not everyone was convinced by the photographic evidence.

‘Why does it look like a power cord goes over your seat belt and up to your vaporizer and why is your vaporizer held to the left side of your face?’ wrote a skeptic.

Ms Morrow insists the only thing she was holding when the photograph was taken was her ‘trusty steamer’

‘I know people who have 2 phones. I think the lanyard on the seat belt caught him.

Others, however, thought he had a case.

“Looks like a lanyard but I think this is part of her top, if it was a lanyard you’d see it on the bottom, phone is on the seat next to her, she’s not touching it,” one wrote.

“Sounds like a vape to me, when you vape sometimes you tend to hold it in your hand and rest it against your head,” said another.

The 19-year-old is taking her case to court to avoid the hefty $1,078 fine and four demerit points.

One user said that the ‘smart cameras’ now being used to detect a broader range of crimes were flawed.

“These AI cameras make mistakes, they are not human and error prone just like a human,” he wrote.

‘AI will take a photo that looks like a phone and the phone is classified as a device that has a SIM card installed, in fact.

‘You can prove there was no SIM card present, it’s not classed as a phone.

“A lot of people are getting screwed over by these cameras and they serve no different purpose than speed cameras that have been shown to slow people down.”

Opinions under Ms Morrow’s Facebook post were divided on whether the photo proved her innocence.

Ms Morrow has called on the Queensland Department of Main Roads to “discard the ridiculous fine”.

A department spokesman defended the reliability of ‘smart cameras’.

“The images from the camera are filtered by artificial intelligence (AI) software,” the spokesperson told the Courier Mail.

“If a possible crime is detected, an authorized TMR officer reviews the image to determine if a crime has been committed.”

The ‘covert cameras’, so called because their locations are kept secret and they are moved regularly, have been in operation since July and have alerted hundreds of drivers for using their mobile phones.

Under Queensland law, even placing a mobile phone anywhere on your body, such as cradling one in your lap, is considered a driving offence.