More NSW drivers fined for speeding below 10km/h over the limit
According to the latest statistics, more NSW drivers are being fined for travelling less than 10km/h over the speed limit than in the past, which could prove NSW Police and the RTA now have near-zero tolerance for fast drivers.
In the year between August 2010 and August 2011, 13,129 drivers were fined for speeding, providing the government with $2.02 million in revenue. Of those fined, 7341 (or 56 per cent) were booked for speeding in the 0-10km/h-over-the-limit bracket. It's unknown just how much revenue those fines generated. These figures are a significant mark-up on the previously recorded 13 per cent.
The perception has been floating around for years that police had to provide a 10 per cent tolerance for possible inaccuracies in both motor vehicle speedometers and the police speed detection equipment. This latest data could prove that there is now no tolerance after all.
A recent News Limited report including an official RTA mobile speed camera contract states there is a tolerance however, a figure of which must remain undisclosed. The contract said,
"Enforcement threshold speed is the speed of vehicles at which RTA initiate prosecution after exercising their common law discretion by allowing a margin or tolerance above the posted speed limit.
"Any enforcement thresholds to be applied on mobile speed camera systems shall be in accordance with RTA and must be approved before implementation. Threshold information shall not be written in correspondence, emailed or transferred without written permission of the RTA."
The RTA is now preparing a report into the effectiveness of mobile speed cameras which have been operational since July 2010.
What do you think of the latest statistics? Is catching offenders that were travelling 0-10km/h over the limit really going to save lives? Feel free to give us your thoughts below.
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