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View Full Version : Aussie police admit speed cameras are for revenue gathering. And inaccurate to boot



Ixion
29th September 2006, 17:58
From the "SafeAs" website.

EDIT : I didn't post a link cos I'm not confident that it will remain on the Safeas website, which is managed by the MoT. And I didn't put it in Biker News cos I wasn't up to the task of paraphrasing it all.


Police ashamed of speed camera policy

Peter Mickelburough
state politics reporter
23 Oct 03

POLICE have broken ranks with the Bracks Government over speed cameras, claiming they are being used as blatant revenue raisers.

Sergeants at a Melbourne police station say there is widespread concern within the force over speed cameras, singling out the West Gate Bridge.
"The public are not alone in their views; the rank and file of the police force are ashamed at the recent tactics of reducing the road toll (or increasing revenue)," says a letter to the Herald Sun, signed by "Concerned Sergeants".

"Speed cameras have an effective and supported purpose of reducing road trauma, but their purpose is lost when they are implemented and placed for revenue purposes (ie. West Gate Bridge)," the letter says.

The officers say support for the cameras has waned since the 10 per cent speed tolerance was cut last year.

The letter argues hefty fines issued to people doing just a few km/h above the limit will hurt many families and could force some into crime to pay them.

It predicts an explosion in motorists losing their licences as new cameras appear on the West Gate Bridge, Geelong Rd and Hume Highway.

Already, some 90,000 drivers are one offence away from licence loss.

"If so many motorists are getting fined on a particular stretch of road, is the speed limit or signage inappropriate for the road?" the letter asks.

Police Association secretary Sen-Sgt Paul Mullett said the association backed most of the letter's sentiments.

"We don't want to see cameras placed just for revenue raising. They should be placed in accident black spots," he said.

But Assistant Commissioner (traffic) Bob Hastings said most police supported the use of speed cameras.

"This idea that speeding a little bit is all right is not right, because we know through research that for every 5km/h over 60km/h your rate of being involved in a collision doubles," he said.

http://heraldsun.news.com.au

Govt imposes speed camera quotas:

A report last week in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper revealed that the company contracted to operate speed cameras in Victoria receives a $104,000 monthly bonus to meet quotas. The report revealed that Tenix Solutions reaped a special bonus payment of $104,000 in January for meeting the government-imposed 85 percent prosecutability quota, and subsequent payments in February and March led to a total $260,000 bonus earned in the first quarter. The report has done nothing to improve public perception of speed cameras as revenue raisers.

Victoria Police suspends processing of speed camera infringement notices

By MARTON PETTENDY 14 November 2003


VICTORIA Police has taken the unprecedented step of freezing all fixed speed camera fines for up to six weeks, as public faith in Victoria’s covert speed detection regime reaches an all-time low.

Wednesday’s announcement by Victoria Police and the Victorian Government means the processing of infringements detected by the state’s 47 fixed speed cameras on the Western Ring Road, Monash Freeway and City link tollway will be suspended until the cameras are checked and verified.

Victoria Police says drivers allegedly caught speeding by cameras eventually found to be accurate will be issued with infringement notices. Police will also determine how long the cameras have been faulty before reviewing any paid fines, which may be reversed on a case-by-case basis.

However, the details of this verification process remain unclear and neither the police nor government will confirm the possibility of compensation for drivers who have lost licences and jobs as a result of the inaccurate camera readings, which in some cases have recorded errors of between 30 and 40km/h. It is believed up to 200,000 motorists may be affected.

The suspension does not affect mobile cameras or red light speed cameras at intersections across Melbourne because, according to the Government, they employ different technology.

The move came three days after Victorian Premier Steve Bracks said he had full confidence in his Government’s method of covert speed detection, which will reap around $427 million in revenue this financial year.

That's a revenue increase of $100 million on 2002-03, which in turn was a massive 225 per cent above 2002-01.

Back in 1999-00, when the first Bracks government came to power, speed camera revenue was $99.5 million. Mr Bracks' move occurred hours after a third fixed speed camera – believed to be a second on the Western Ring Road – was officially labelled as defective by police.

Law Institute of Victoria president Bill O’Shea said this week that motorists who had already paid fixed speed camera fines should write to the police Traffic Camera Office to ask for the return of their money and demerit points.

"It is the least that the State Government can do, considering the vast amount of money that is raised from traffic camera fines," he said.

Deputy prime minister and federal transport minister John Anderson expressed concern on Melbourne radio station 3AW this week that Victorian motorists were being charged with "serious offences" due to the state’s "very low" speed camera tolerance levels, which were lowered to 3km/h from the previous 10 per cent – still the margin of error allowed in other states, as well as that allowable for vehicle speedometer error under Australian Design Rules.

"The auto manufacturers will tell you that there is a limit to how accurate they can make their speedometers," he told 3AW. "There has to be a bit of give and take."

Victoria Police officially admitted to the state’s first faulty speed camera following the issuing of an infringement notice to the owner of a 1970s model Datsun 120Y – which was allegedly detected on the Western Ring Road at 158km/h – back in July.

It took 105 days – and a second incident in which a Volvo truck was alleged to have travelled at 174km/h uphill in the Burnley tunnel - for Victoria Police to announce fixed cameras would undergo accuracy testing. A third faulty camera, revealed on Wednesday, led to the suspension of infringement processing.

{continued : blurdy 10000 char limit}

Ixion
29th September 2006, 17:59
The suspension of Victorian speed camera operations came on the same day it was announced that all 30 of France’s first speed cameras have been attacked with bullets, paint and a sledge hammer. While no such incidents have occurred in Australia, at least one civilian speed camera operator has been attacked in Victoria and at least one Sydney speed camera has been vandalised.

On Tuesday leading UK car magazine Autocar issued a press release slamming speed cameras as a $320 million failure following research into the debate in association with the RAC Foundation.

Autocar discovered that while the number of speeding drivers caught by cameras has risen four-fold to more than one million since 1996, there has been a less than five per cent reduction in the number of road deaths in the UK.

"(Speed cameras) do not deter drivers from speeding, are remarkably unsuccessful at saving lives and may well cause accidents of their own," said editor Steve Sutcliffe.

"Their presence has meant the removal of police from our roads, so thousands of serious driving offences now go undetected."

In the UK, one of the first countries to get speed cameras, by law:

Speed camera housings must be yellow

No camera should be obscured by bridges, signs, trees or bushes

Cameras must be visible from 60 metres away in 40mph (64.4km/h) or less areas and 100 metres for all other limits
Camera warning and speed limit reminders must be placed within 1km of fixed and mobile camera sites.

Signs must only be placed in areas where camera housings are placed or where mobile cameras are used

Mobile speed camera users must be highly visible by wearing fluorescent clothing and their vehicles marked with reflective strips.

Camera sites must be reviewed at least every six months to ensure that visibility and signing conditions are being met.

A recent survey found that 48 per cent of motorists would not report speed camera vandalism to authorities if they witnessed it in the UK, where drivers detected at 30mph (48.3km/h) over the speed limit are likely to face loss of licence. In Victoria, automatic loss of licence now occurs at 25km/h over the posted limit.

Records show Australia’s road toll was 1725 in 2002 – the highest figure since 1996, although road deaths have remained relatively static since 1992. The number of fatal crashes in Australia has fallen 42 per cent between 1980 and 2002, despite a 50 per cent increase in the number of cars on our roads – from around eight million in 1980 to about 12 million today.

Canadian research shows two-thirds of drivers killed in speed-related crashes had consumed drugs and/or alcohol, two-thirds of speed-related crashes occurred below the posted speed limit while travelling “too fast for the conditions”, and that over-the-limit speeding was a major factor in less than five per cent of fatalities.

Australian state governments reaped record revenue from speed cameras in 2002, a year in which a similar number of people died in accidental falls and almost 2500 committed suicide.

In terms of road deaths per registered vehicle, Australia rates eighth among the 27 nations of the OECD. It is one of the few not to enforce compulsory driver training.


,,,{snippy}
The TAC pursues its 'speed kills' campaign for one reason and - shock horror - it's not the safety of road users. It is to legitimize its use of speed cameras to raise revenue. How else does a government department meet a traffic infringement budget forecast of $392million? That's up $101 million on the previous year.

Want to know how ludicrous this situation is? If more money is expected to be made, then more people are expected to speed. If the government itself predicts more speeding drivers, then clearly people aren't slowing down. If people aren't slowing down, then the road safety campaign is not working!

Or is speeding not the real cause of crashes?

Vic Govt imposes speed camera quotas:

A report last week in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper revealed that the company contracted to operate speed cameras in Victoria receives a $104,000 monthly bonus to meet quotas. The report revealed that Tenix Solutions reaped a special bonus payment of $104,000 in January for meeting the government-imposed 85 percent prosecutability quota, and subsequent payments in February and March led to a total $260,000 bonus earned in the first quarter. The report has done nothing to improve public perception of speed cameras as revenue raisers.



Wonder when the NZ Police will be as honest ?

Lou Girardin
29th September 2006, 18:15
Wonder when the NZ Police will be as honest ?

Never. The bosses, or even the middle ranking cops, don't have the courage.

The Pastor
29th September 2006, 18:29
Good read! Goes to show what we have been saying for the last .... ever.... isnt just biased biker garbage! Nice one.

Hillbilly
29th September 2006, 19:20
There are big signs on the F3 and Pacific Highway warning that speed cameras are around. The say "Speed Cameras In Use In NSW" etc. Generally everyone slows down 'cos there's a camera about 400m up the road. Only the idiots ignor the signs.

SPman
29th September 2006, 19:38
Quite frankly, I've given up worrying about speed cameras and ride according to the road and conditions in a manner I consider safe. I hardly ever look at the speedo out on the open road and if I get nicked - tough! I will not change my riding in any way other than to not deliberately provoke cops.
Fuck speed cameras and all who sail on them!
And yes - I have spray canned a speed camera lens - viva la revoluzione!
Fuckin Pollies and their "one size fits all" regulations!

Deano
29th September 2006, 19:43
The Safeas workshops were a load of BS, just so 'they' could say they consulted. They have twisted the truth in their preliminary report but Joe Public wouldn't know. Perhaps 'they' should appendix some of the comments made on the site, regarding misinformation, and the 'lip service' apologies "thank you for pointing this oversight out to us" crap.

spudchucka
30th September 2006, 10:07
From the "SafeAs" website.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Its from 2003.

Who cares, if you get caught by one of these things just look at it as "dumb arse" tax.

terbang
30th September 2006, 10:16
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Its from 2003.

Who cares, if you get caught by one of these things just look at it as "dumb arse" tax.

Therein lies our NZ problem..!

spudchucka
30th September 2006, 14:48
Therein lies our NZ problem..!

The little smilies, the fact that the blurb was from 2003 or the suggestion that anyone caught by a speed camera is a dumb arse?

Al
30th September 2006, 17:04
Gummint want to reduce road speed to 110km/h here in the Territory too.... It is the out of state pricks who have decided that "speed kills", few mishaps with booze, fast cars and youthfulness in the city but nothing on the open speed Stuart Highway!

Fuggem!

Al

padre
1st October 2006, 00:15
Maybe the Ockers are predicting huge increases in speed revenue du to anticipated effects of the dumbing down program.

Who cares Spudman. So ya dont mind being replaced by a speed cam?

The French response was refreshing, we should see more people standing up to the Helenites here where it matters to do so.

spudchucka
1st October 2006, 13:38
Who cares Spudman. So ya dont mind being replaced by a speed cam?

I've got no time for speed cameras and I agree that they are mainly about grabbing $$$$ from the public, BUT, I have even less time for clowns that get caught by them because they must be driving around with their eyes shut.

scumdog
1st October 2006, 13:46
Wonder when the NZ Police will be as honest ?

Front line Police don't operate speed cameras (in fact they are manned by non-sworn Police) and in fact they have to pay if they get pinged by a speed camera EVEN if in a work car - unless they can prove they were in pursuit/attending urgent job etc (by quoting from the comms dispatcher log times).

And the first time I get caught by a speed-camera I will post on this site because if I'm THAT blind and stupid I deserve to get pinged.

terbang
1st October 2006, 13:49
Well they got a nice wee picky of me yesterday. Gave them some numbers to make it worth their while along with a friendly wave :motu:

Balrog
1st October 2006, 15:27
I remember when speed cameras where introduced here.
We were told that they were only going to be put in black spots.
That they would only be placed within x number of K's from a speed camera
sign.
That they would take into account the average speed travelled on that piece
of road and only snap the top 10 percent.

Its funny how the sales pitch sounds fair and honest, but it only took a few years before all that meant nothing.

Its a pity really, because they did have the potential to be very good for
road safety in the right places.
Imagine if they were highly visible and just placed
- outside schools
- at really bad intersections
- just before really dangerous pieces of road

Then people would slow down for the camera, which in turn would make the
school, intersection safer.
The cameras wouldn't make a lot of money because 99% of people would
see them. But the point would be to slow them down for the right reasons in
the right places.

You only need to watch local people driving past a fixed speed camera
to see this in action.

Unfortunately slowing drivers down for 100 meters on a motorway achieves nothing.