READY AIM... FIRE!!!
More speed cameras is 'just revenue raising': QPU
By Natalie Poyhonen ABC News
Updated Mon Mar 1, 2010
The State Government plans to roll out
digital speed cameras as part of a road safety campaign. (ABC News: Paul
Robinson)
The Queensland Police Union (QPU) says increasing the number of
speed cameras being deployed across the state is simply an exercise in revenue
raising. QPU president Ian Leavers says it will not lead to a reduction in the state's
road toll. It is the first time the QPU has publicly made such a suggestion.
The State Government plans to roll out digital speed cameras as part of a
road safety campaign, but Mr Leavers says increasing police patrols would be a
more effective measure. "Speed cameras won't catch drink drivers, they won't catch unroadworthy
vehicles, unlicensed vehicles, unregistered vehicles or those who are driving,
talking on their mobile phones and all those other offences and dangerous
driving," he said.
"They won't catch that - they will just catch those who are speeding." A spokeswoman for Police Minister Neil Roberts says two digital speed cameras
are being trialled in Ashgrove and Calamvale in Brisbane this year, but the
number of devices across Queensland will not change.
Premier Anna Bligh says all the revenue goes into road safety
initiatives. "Wherever we've seen a reduction in the road toll, it's a combination of two
things - good information to people through campaigns about the consequences of
dangerous driving on our roads, and strong law enforcement, whether it's speed
cameras or random breath testing," she said.
"There's a really easy way to avoid paying any revenue to the State
Government for speeding and that's to stay within the speed limit."
Brisbane's New Tunnel to have 8 Speed Cameras
25th Nov 2009 
BRISBANE'S new cross-river tunnel will be lined with eight fixed speed cameras over its 6.8km length.
The tunnel will account for almost half of the fixed speed camera sites across the entire state once it is operational.
Motoring groups said it was a case of ''gross overkill'' and accused the State Government of contradicting its own camera policy, insisting locations were supposed to be chosen on historical crash data.
Police Minister Neil Roberts yesterday said the cameras would help enforce the 80km/h speed limit and reduce the significant speed-related crash risks a tunnel posed.
''Crashes in tunnels have the potential to be particularly hazardous due to the enclosed nature of the environment,'' Mr Roberts said. ''Fixed speed cameras have been proven to raise drivers' awareness of speed limits and ultimately slow motorists down.''
However, RACQ spokeswoman Lynda Schekoske said the motoring group supported cameras only where there was a significant crash history.
''Eight cameras in six or so kilometres seems somewhat excessive,'' she said. ''We would certainly think that having cameras there for enforcement reasons from the outset would not be very appropriate.''
The move is likely to provide a new revenue bounty for the cash-strapped Government, with about 4000 drivers a month caught at the state's first three fixed camera sites last year.
Mr Roberts said the Clem7 cameras would be placed in four locations in pairs and on each side of the road and would be clearly signed, like the state's nine above-ground cameras. Only six of those above-ground cameras are operational but the other three will be brought online in coming weeks.
The tunnel cameras will be digital, unlike the previous wet film models.
QUT Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety researcher Mark King yesterday said while the move was unusual, the cameras were appropriate given the unique nature of the tunnel.
''We have had some high-profile nasty crashes in tunnels and when it does happen, it can be quite bad,'' he said.
The tunnel, linking Bowen Hills north of the Brisbane CBD to Woolloongabba in the south, is expected to open in the first few months of next year.
The cameras will mean a driver could lose their licence and cop an $800 fine in a matter of minutes if they drove through the four sites at 93km/h.
National Motorists Association Australia (NMAA) spokesman Michael Lane, a fierce critic of speed cameras, said the tunnel plan was ridiculous.
''It's gross overkill,'' he said. ''I assume it's a reasonably straight tunnel. You don't need four in each direction. That is a ridiculous waste of money.
''What if someone goes through there and their speedometer is faulty, they get four tickets and they lose their licence?''
But late today, a spokesman for Police Minister Neil Roberts' office clarified that, at worst, a speeding motorist could be hit with two tickets.
New Digital Cameras will Getcha!! 
6th January 2010
LET’S call her Jane, shall we?
She has been nicked three times for speeding this past month so she might have good reason for not wanting to be identified.
What’s worrying for the rest of us is that maybe in the not too distant future more and more of us will run foul of the law over speeding offences.
New digital speed cameras are to be introduced mid-year which will enable the “tolerance” figure in the policing of speed limits to be lowered.
The government might already be preparing for the introduction of the new cameras with a blitz on speeding. This week Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said more speed enforcement could save lives.
He said the widespread introduction of speed cameras had reduced road deaths in recent years.
“I genuinely believe that we could save 50 to 100 lives here, each year, if we could focus heavily on speed enforcement,” Mr Atkinson said.
The new digital equipment will replace the outdated wet-film cameras.
In Victoria the “tolerance” threshold has been lowered to 3km/h, which means drivers doing 63km/h in a 60km/h zone could be fined.
Police and the state government do not publicly acknowledge a tolerance figure, but many drivers believe that they are safe during 10km/h over the limit in a 100km/h zone.
“Jane” said that until a month a go her driving record had been clean.
Then she was booked twice for doing 70km/h in a 60km/h zone and once for doing eight or nine kilometres over the limit on the highway in an 100km/h speed zone.
These moments of distraction have placed her licence at risk. She can’t afford to have another traffic fine. She said the lower speed limits were a worry.
“Getting booked for two or three kilometres over the speed limit is a bit extreme – is it just a revenue raiser?” she said.
“It’s not hard to go over if you are coming down a hill or if you get a little distracted.
“I think five per cent over the signed limit should be tolerated.” |
