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.
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