Updated 1 Jan 2021
There has been publicity in the printed and electronic media over the last 12 plus years about Mobile Speed Cameras in NSW.
Originally, 40 of these units were rolled out, however there are now 45 spread throughout the State. The RTA (Roads and Traffic Authority) initially budgeted on the contractor achieving 12,200 hours per month, however it appears that about 7000 hours were achieved on average. That is now to be increased three-fold to 21,000 by Transport for NSW.
Video courtesy of A Current Affair on Ch9.
The units are placed at different locations at different times of the day and night – so it behooves us as drivers to abide by the law and ensure that these cameras don’t give us cause for complaint.
We don’t know what speed threshold will be set for prosecution. The cameras are accurate to +/- 2%, which means that you could receive a ticket in the mail for a speed infraction at little over the speed limit – so be warned.
The initial procedure was to give a warning sign 250 metres before the unit and 100 metres past. Since about November 2020, this procedure has now stopped, so that there is now no warning as to the presence of such units.
A further concern is that these operators are on an incentive scheme, such that, if they achieve above the base level that it set for any particular Key Performance Indicator (KPI) then they receive an additional percentage bonus over and above their monthly fee. The bonus for the KPI relating to “prosecutability” has been removed owing to the public outrage, however, there is a base level set for prosecutions, which is expected to be achieved.
Despite the Government’s back down, you can see that all they are really about is bringing in the dollars.
This is big business, with capital outlay of millions of dollars – would they go to this expense if they weren’t going to make big money out of it? You be the judge.
The conclusion necessarily follows that these measures aren’t there to slow down motorists – after all – how could that happen when you don’t know where they are located at any particular time.
The best proven method of slowing down motorists is to let them know they are being watched. This is borne out when a Police presence is visible on the road.
Despite government promising that it would look at the viability of Fixed speed cameras, it looks like they are here to stay and if anything, with the advent of Mobile Phone cameras, is now a permanent way of life for drivers on the roads.
Accredited Criminal Law Specialist, Peter Proctor the Principal of Proctor and Associates, was interviewed on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair show (which aired on 1st November, 2010) to discuss Mobile Speed Cameras. To view the episode, please play the video clip earlier in this page.