50 More Ways To Get Booked
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday March 16, 2002
Fifty new speed cameras will be installed across the state following a study the Government says shows deaths at existing camera sites have fallen by almost 90 per cent.
But the Opposition attacked the announcement as nothing more than a blatant revenue-raising exercise and said speeding fines had jumped 690 per cent since the Government came to power.
The Transport Minister, Carl Scully, said 11 sites had been chosen for new cameras and 39 others would be installed after consultation with police. The exercise will cost $17 million.
A study of 28 existing cameras found that deaths at those sites fell from 21 during the three years before installation to just one in the past six to 21 months.
During the same period at the same locations crashes resulting in injury had falled from 438 to 141 and at sites where cameras had been in place for 12 months average mean speeds had dropped 12.4 per cent.
While figures showing deaths, injuries and tow-aways are down an average 87.5 per cent, 15.7 per cent and 21.7 per cent respectively, the trend is not universal.
At Woodburn, 30 kilometres south of Lismore, there were eight injuries at one spot in the three years before a camera was installed and two in just six months since it was introduced.
The Opposition Leader, Kerry Chikarovski, said speed cameras did not improve motorists' driving behaviour.
``Camera fines, which are issued weeks after a motorist has been caught breaking the speed limit, have absolutely no deterrent value on the driver's behaviour on the day they are breaking the law," Mrs Chikarovski said.
``It is well known that motorists simply slow down when passing a known camera site, only to return to higher speeds once they are safely through.
``The Carr Government's primary interest is revenue raising, rather than addressing the real problem of road safety in our community."
She said the Government raked in more than $52 million from fixed speed cameras in 2000-2001 and speed infringement notices had leapt from 58,246 in 1994-95 to a ``staggering" 460,067 last financial year.
Mr Scully said his only interest in speed cameras was in reducing the road toll, and estimated up to 20 motorists would have been killed without the state's speed camera program.
``I don't want people to get infringement notices," Mr Scully said. ``I
don't want any money from this. I don't want people to pay one cent. I want
lives saved."
Three-year accident history of the new locations
Sydney
Site Accidents Injuries Fatalities
1. Fairfield East 36 30 1
2. Carlingford 60 25 1
3. West Pennant Hills 56 29 1
4. Ryde 62 19 1
Northern NSW
Site Accidents Injuries Fatalities
1. Ben Lomond 8 8 1
2. Tenterfield 10 11 3
3. Alstonville 16 15 0
4. New Italy 8 5 3
5. Hungry Head 33 27 3
Wollongong
Site
Accidents Injuries Fatalities
1. Corrimal (2 cameras) 36 30 1
© 2002 Sydney Morning Herald
