Mobile speed camera warning signs now an election issue in NSW
Motorists across NSW have been hit with the biggest increase in speed camera fines in recorded history. Now the opposition has made it an election issue, as families and tradies say ‘enough is enough’.
Warning signs ahead of mobile speed cameras are set to become an election issue in NSW, as the State Opposition makes a pledge to reinstate them – if it is voted into power – amid a record rise in fines and licence suspensions.
The NSW Government removed portable warning signs and reflective markings on mobile speed camera cars in the middle of the pandemic – amid accusations it was desperate a grab for cash – and at the same time dramatically reduced the threshold at which speeding tickets are issued.
As a direct result of these changes, the number of fines issued to drivers speeding at less than 10km/h increased by more than tenfold – and revenue from speeding fines increased to record levels.
The drastic measures have also cost the licences – and in some cases the livelihoods – of more drivers than ever before.
For example, in June 2020 – before portable warning signs ahead of mobile speed cameras were abolished – 2300 drivers were busted by mobile speed cameras in NSW, raising $453,000 in fines.
In June 2021 – after the warning signs and reflective vehicle markings were removed and the speeding threshold was lowered – more than 22,000 drivers were busted by mobile speed cameras in NSW, raking in more than $5 million in fines.
In an attempt to justify the draconian approach – and the more than tenfold increase in the number of drivers being caught at modest speeds – the NSW Government began an advertising blitz claiming that speeding at just 10km/h over the limit was a major cause of road deaths.
However the experiment has been a failure, because road fatalities have increased despite the tough new measures – proving that busting drivers at less than 10km/h above the speed limit has done nothing to improve road safety.
Critics of the current mobile speed camera scheme in NSW say the previous policy of placing warning signs before and after mobile speed camera cars – themselves covered in highly reflective markings – was more effective at catching truly dangerous drivers.
Frontline highway patrol officers are strong critics of the current mobile speed camera scheme in NSW, but are not permitted to speak publicly about the issue.
According to recent crash data, the majority of fatalities on NSW roads involve drivers impaired by drugs, alcohol or both – as well as banned drivers, those who have never held a licence, and drivers of unregistered or unroadworthy cars. All of which are offences speed cameras cannot detect.
“The government is deliberately distorting the fatal crash statistics to support their decision to lower the thresholds at which speeding tickets are issued via mobile speed camera cars,” one highway patrol officer told Drive, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“If the data they have says most fatal crashes are at less than 10 km/h above the speed limit, then they need to be honest about that and explain to motorists that those drivers were also affected by drugs, alcohol, or were repeat driving offenders who have a long history of flouting the law.
“Instead, these cameras are catching otherwise law-abiding citizens who are simply keeping with the flow of traffic. These cameras are issuing tickets police would not in good conscience issue themselves. Because there would be dozens of other cars driving past doing the same speed (while an officer was issuing a ticket).”
Another highway patrol officer told Drive: “Either reintroduce the highly reflective markings on the back of the speed camera cars, and reintroduce the portable warning signs well ahead of the speed camera cars, and maintain the low speeding threshold – or leave the cars hidden and partially marked as they currently are, but increase the threshold to 20km/h or more above the speed limit, so you truly are catching the idiots on the road.
“The current system is crippling people’s lives by affecting their livelihoods – and it has done nothing to cut the road toll.”
A number of leading members of the NSW Opposition have begun sharing on their social media channels a promise to reintroduce warning signs and abolish hidden cameras if they are voted into government at the next state election.
In one example, a member of the NSW Opposition wrote: “Removing speed camera warning signs has not worked. It has made families poorer, but it hasn’t made our roads any safer.”
The message accompanies a pledge by the NSW Opposition to reintroduce warning signs and “abolish hidden speed cameras”.
Last year the NSW Government announced it would reinstate warning signs – just nine months after introducing covert speed camera cars – following a fierce public backlash.
However, motorists feel duped by the promise, because the previous portable warning signs – placed some distance before and after parked speed camera cars – were replaced by a sign on the roof of camera cars, which now only have partial markings on the doors, and lack highly reflective stripes across the tailgate.
The current changes mean, by the time drivers see the sign on the roof of the speed camera car, their speed has already been checked.
In April 2022, a number of operators of mobile speed camera cars in NSW were accused of not displaying retractable rooftop signs that were supposed to be introduced from March 2022 onwards.
The government said it would take time to equip each speed camera car across NSW with the new fold-down roof-top signs.
Regardless, statistics show the campaign of sneaky speed cameras has not worked in NSW.
The latest fatal statistics for NSW show there has been a 13.2 per cent increase in the number of road deaths so far this year (from 121 fatalities to 16 June 2021 to 137 fatalities to 16 June 2022) compared to the same period last year – despite the harsh new measures and a tenfold increase in speeding fines issued for travelling at less than 10km/h over the limit.
The post Mobile speed camera warning signs now an election issue in NSW appeared first on Drive.