Motorists 'outsmart' Speed Cameras

[Soft]

"Motorists have learned how to outsmart fixed speed cameras in NSW with exclusive figures showing the number of drivers caught speeding slumping by more than 200,000 in just two years. The fall in fines has left NSW Treasury with a revenue black hole of up to $30 million — possibly explaining why the cash-strapped State Government is pushing ahead this year with its new-style covert speed cameras."

Full Article: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/795167...t-speed-cameras

My two cents: To say drivers are 'outsmarting' the cameras is a bit of an overstatement - but whether people are keeping to the speed limit all the time or only when cameras are around, it is good to see the incidence of fines dropping. I agree with Wendy Machin, in that the State Government shouldn't be relying on revenue from fines. To run a budget on the assumption that people will break the law doesn't seem right morally.

According to the reporter in the video, statistics for how many people have been caught by the mobile speed cameras will be released tomorrow. Should be interesting to see.

[GTR-N1]

Now they might plonk a Mobile Speed Cam 200m down the road from a Fixed Speed Cam.

[Kinkstaah]

I like how its not titled "Motorists are getting the message and driving safely"

[GTScotT]

Speed cameras are meant to be put up in known blackspots, thus motorists 'outsmarting' the cameras is actually fuulfilling the machines original purpose - stopping motorists speeding in that particular place.

Obviously we arent meant to speed at all, but were also not meant to go to war or fight with eachother. There are certain things that no matter what you do you can never stop a human doing. We will all break the rules, we will all do stupid things. Meh, do what you can do mitigate the risks (IE deter drivers from speeding with cameras ETC) but dont take it personally (enter angry cop man here).

This article goes to show the whole revenue raising stabs are far more accurate than the 'blackspot' safety speil offered on the RTA website (to which they are still pushing with the mobile cameras).

MEH.

[nuclear_skyline]

Now they might plonk a Mobile Speed Cam 200m down the road from a Fixed Speed Cam.

Isnt there some kind of regulation regarding the proximity of speed cameras due to the fact you can argue that you were only speeding once, not twice therefore it should only be one offence and one fine.

[GTR-N1]

Even if that were so, the Mobile Speed Cam would be intended to catch those that escape the clutches of the Fixed Speed Cam.

Like they say on the Ad, "Anywhere at Anytime".

[Hiroshima Screamer]

i say why not put a few every couple of meters , its not like anyone's going to appose it... here the government dose what it likes.

[N1GTR]

Isnt there some kind of regulation regarding the proximity of speed cameras due to the fact you can argue that you were only speeding once, not twice therefore it should only be one offence and one fine.

That wouldnt explain the situation at The Spit years ago where there was a camera at the top of the hill, halfway down, then the bottom so you're done three times

[r33ftw]

Dunno how relevant or true this now as its dated 2007? but i read this last night and certainly got some amusement out of it

http://www.speedingfineconsultants.com/

Pretty much lists your rights and what to do if caught so you can fight it in court, but yeah the interesting part was about what cops ARENT meant to be doing, like that theyre not allowed to set up in a concealed location/on hills/on bend/anywhere that isnt a known blackspot or high risk area and also that the guns arent designed to be used at oncomming traffic?

it all sounds too good to be true, anyone elses opinion?

[nuclear_skyline]

That wouldnt explain the situation at The Spit years ago where there was a camera at the top of the hill, halfway down, then the bottom so you're done three times

I'm pretty sure I read an article about a chap that was booked on the spit i think twice (twso cameras in a row) and he took it to court and had it ruled as one offence. Thereby he only lost 1 set of points and paid one fine.

[sneki81]

i think it would be safe to say they would have used the bigger speed out of the two rather than the first offence though

[chunkylover69]

Here is a list of the locations, I think this was posted on another thread.

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/downl..._locations.html

The info on the RTA website doesn't really say that the listed locations are the ONLY locations that the speed cameras will operate. It does say that there is a location selection process, so to say that they will be "anywhere" seems a little bit misleading. Also, I have been told by an operator that at the moment they are not operating at night, at-least until they get the technological aspect of night operation sorted. So "anytime" also seems misleading (at this point). The operator also said that you need to be doing 4km/h + 10% of the posted speed limit (so any faster than 114 in a 100 zone for example). I don't know how reliable that info is, so take it all with a grain of salt, interesting nonetheless!

[GTR-N1]

...interesting nonetheless.

Thanks, Mark

[GTR-N1]

Gosford Council intends to book any drivers who park their RTA Mobile Speed Camera Vehicles illegally!

...such as nature strip parking, parking contrary to signage etc.

...so the law catches up with 'the law'

[N-DAWG]

Gosford Council intends to book any drivers who park their RTA Mobile Speed Camera Vehicles illegally!

...such as nature strip parking, parking contrary to signage etc.

...so the law catches up with 'the law'

We need more councils like that.. I like how they also say we need to "fix" the black spots, have more police visibility and improve education. There's your recipe for fixing the problem. Oh but the problem is what's generating revenue... I suppose we can't do that now, instead just capitalise on the problem

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-...i-1225947500093

[karma_syke]

yeah go gosford, common wyong council, time to follow suit and make a pattern across NSW and stop this rediculous cash grab,

[Macross]

Gosford Council intends to book any drivers who park their RTA Mobile Speed Camera Vehicles illegally!

...such as nature strip parking, parking contrary to signage etc.

...so the law catches up with 'the law'

They had the deputy mayor of Gosford council on Triple M about this on friday. He basically said that unfortunately the state govt could introduce legislation tomorrow to make mobile speed camears exempt from any illegal parking requirements, I'm guessing this is what will happen if other councils follow suit as it would blow a big hole in bankrupt nsw state govt's bottom line.

Meanwhile in other countries they're introducing laws to limit or eliminate fixed speed cameras

[Galois]

The operator also said that you need to be doing 4km/h + 10% of the posted speed limit (so any faster than 114 in a 100 zone for example). I don't know how reliable that info is, so take it all with a grain of salt, interesting nonetheless!

I thought that was an old urban myth, possibly based on more lenient days. I know many people who have been booked at just over 10%. One of whose father was a policeman and the driver objected that he wasn't doing 10% + 4 over, probably didn't help his case lol.

You're probably safe at just under 10% and not more than 10km/h, but if I went through a speed trap at 124km/h I'd expect to be caught. That is of course when the policeman has to decide whether it's worth chasing you down or not, they probably won't bother for 5.6 or 7 km/h over.

Cameras aren't so lenient...