Speed Camera Madness
June 26, 2007 by Paul Maric
Speed cameras – or cash cameras, as they’re more affectionately known – are meant to save lives, we all know that. Well I’ve found the proof – I really have!
Have a look at the photos below. It’s two times now – in the same week – that this stretch of road near Geelong, Victoria has taken me over 25 minutes to travel through. Normally, at the 70km/h speed limit, it shouldn’t take any longer than 45 seconds. The reason for the delays? Workers operating on the speed/red light camera located at this major intersection – during peak hour.
Don’t worry, you’re not seeing things. These morons (that’s the nicest and least offensive word I could think of to describe them) have blocked off the right hand turning lane, along with one of the two lanes on the opposite side of this major road.
Again, you’re not seeing things. That loaded truck is stuck in the middle of the intersection trying to turn right during a red light due to the blockage of the right hand turning lane – during peak hour.
Out of all the speed cameras in the world, this has to be one of the only ones saving lives. Why? Because traffic doesn’t actually have the chance to move above 20km/h, so the possibility of a death is nil – unless of course the worker falls off his/her ladder.
It’s nice to see that the Bracks Government has its priorities right. Forget fixing some of the appalling roads throughout Victoria and concentrate solely on fixing a speed camera which is bound to earn millions of dollars over its lifetime. Makes sense.
Paul Maric
Print it: 
hahah, you have to remember, priorities are essential.
when pot holes appear in a major road it usually takes a good, 3 months before anything is done, but when a speed camera breaks, it gets fixed in 3 days.
its mainly due to the revenue raised, a good road doesnt raise revenue.
It’s typical of the Bracks government! They’ll never address the actual reason for accidents on the road. The line of thought is “let’s make roads slower, a slower accident is a safer accident”… Rather than address the root problem (the standard of driving has deteriorated) their policy is to just make any car accident ’softer’ when they should really be thinking of how to stop an accident in the first place.
Having just released a budget that intends to make many millions more from speed cameras than 06/07 (no doubt our friend in the photo is lending his assistance), I think it’s time the Bracks government spends some of the money they make on trying to understand why there has been a slump in driver competency, not where to make the most flash-cash.
- DBP
Where is this camera?
You Aussies have got it lucky with speed cameras. I’ve lived in Victoria, here in the UK we pay loads of tax, Police drive Mercedes E class for highway patrol cars, Cameras everywhere with loads of varieties, how about a ’specs’ camera, It measures average speed over a set distance sometimes metres, sometimes kilometres.
Roads are falling apart rutted, potholed, lumps n bumps, speed bumps, Loads of folk drive 4WD’s as they are so bad.
If you don’t like traffic moved to the country. See yah
Guido victoria recently had the pleasure of the specs cameras too, we are just behind the times ;)
I agree with everything you guys are saying. over the past yr my black wrx has got me in lots of trouble with cameras. i think there dangerous cause as you get to one, you are full looking at the speedo more than the road. and at the end of the day once you pass them you just gun it again. at least if you got pulled over by a cop you slow down for a couple of weeks, so cameras dont even do anything.lol hope that made sense
The only reason why cameras make revenue is because people like to speed. My view is to NOT speed and therefore the Govt will NOT make any money out of us!
Why do people willingly WANT to pay the Govt money is beyond me!
One more thing to be very careful of…when you go past roadworks and see the 25kph sign…do 25! I got busted (yes by a camera) for doing 37…Yes…speeding at 37kph! Charge was doing more than 12k over the posted limit and cost me $120 plus $5 Victims of Crime Levy. Now when I go past roadworks, I do 25 (well, maybe a bit more!)
Moral of the story…If they want you, they will get you!
Yep, it sure is simple…don’t speed and you have nothing to worry about…
Oh, I suppose unless of course the camera or radar gun is inaccurate…
I got booked a couple of years back by a hand held laser speed gun. They show not only the speed, but how far away you were when you were caught doing that speed. My “offence” was doing 72km/hr in a 60km zone, just down the road from the factory where I work, and park my motorbike in front of. I had just left work and got pulled. Now, from the cop to my parking space was a distance of 140 meters…I measured it the next day with a meter wheel from work. The “distance” from the cop when “caught”? 140 meters.
So, somehow, my Buck Rogers Rocket Cycle managed to accelerate from a standing start to 72km/hr instantly, in less than a second. I now have a framed speeding ticket proving that my old 1974 Kawasaki 750 is the fastest accelerating motorcycle on the face of the Earth…
I tried to contest it by writing out a report and sending it in, but the result was a curt letter stating “we’re right, you’re wrong, pay up”. What was I supposed to do? Take a day off work, go to court, and STILL be found guilty and pay costs..
The whole system is set up so you can’t fight, and just shut up and pay the fine…
Oh, I forgot to mention one little thing which has niggled at my mind since that day…the cop showed me the gun, and it had the two figures…72km/hr, and 140 meters. I was so stunned by what was happening that I only thought later that he had simply walked over to me, showed me the gun, and then went back to the car for the ticket book.
The thing that worries me? You can ask the cop to let you see him zero the reading after he shows you…I didn’t. I wonder how long that reading had been on the gun and how many other people he caught that afternoon doing “72km/hr 140 meters away”…
Wow John, what a bike you must have! Faster acceleration than an FA18 Hornet Fighter Plane!
How can you withstand the G-forces when accelerating?
Did you think of contacting the Guiness Book of Records?
All the talk about speed cameras and their fines are irelivent when you know the truth about them. don’t be fooled in to paying these absurd fee’s for using our FREE roads aledgedly unlawfully any longer. parking fines included. see http://www.howtodot.com to learn more. empower yourself with knowledge
The state revenue departments have gone revenue mad, its just too easy for them to increase revenue by slugging unwary motorists with these manned or unmanned electronic devices, — ( if you dont like your fine take it to court, its a false democracy we live in – how many people actually take it to court when you know the resources youre going to be up against). Increasingly these days how are you supposed to know what the speed limit actually is, single stretches of roads have speeds that vary form 60 – 70 – 50 – 100 – 80 -110 all within a few km’s, if you get distracted and miss the small inadequate signage you could be speeding big time. Bet youre bottom dollar theres a speed camera there somewhere. Some school zones are 40 between school times eg 8-930 and 230-4 others are 40 the whole day eg 8-5. How are you supposed to read a single sign with small writing travelling at 60k on a major road dealing with all the other traffic on the road. Beware the unwary if your pretty new or not used to the road you are travelling on.
Also the 12point system is now old and outdated it was intoduced at a time when all these extra revenue raisng devices were not around, its especially unfair to motorists who travel in CBD or major city centres where these devices are installed just waiting to trap the innocent unwary motorist. Motorists need more like 24 points now to make up for the unwary or incorrect times they may have been detecting breaking the so called speed limit. by these ridiculous cameras and the totally insuffiecient speed limit signage in many areas. Theres a lot of problems here and not enough being done to have them fixed right.
May as well make the speed limit 40km/h everywhere and have satellite speed monitor in you car with a direct link to state revenue that slugs you everytime you go over 45 and have your bank details on line with them for instantaneous direct automatic debit and if your not happy take it to court.
Its funny to note your comparison to how it takes 3 months for a pothole to be fixed and 3 days for a speed camera to be fixed. Vicroads (or other for other states) operate the roads and how they are fixed and Tenix operates the speed cameras. In case you didnt know, there is someone actually reviewing the images when they are taken so they can see a problem with it, yet with vicroads they are not watching every single millimetre of road and most likely people would be too lazy to report it. Think before you say things. its that easy.
Heres the simple solution that we need to promote to the government…Speed doesnt kill…Inappropriate speed does.
Nearly 99%of all accidents are caused by one thing. Poor decision making. Thats it nothing more to it. But we get governments that are re-active rather than pro-active (just look at our water crisis – “lets just wait until its a problem before we do anything about it” this applies anywhere especially road safety)
Unfortunetly, it seems VicRoads are on the biggest cash cow you could imagine, will they (VicRoads) actually send the odd copper out there ? Absolutely not, cop’s cost, cameras don’t, solution , put more cameras out there, this is a accountants dream, the more camera’s, the more money VicRoad makes.
Simple maths, I wish i’d thought of it, the question is though, are we better drivers for the actions of VicRoads ? No i think not, how can we be , if i see a set of intersection lights, my first response is to check my speed, even though most times not sure what speed i’m surposed to be going, was it 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 0r 100 ?
I find I now don’t consider other road users, why should I, their actions may cause me to accrue a fine and 1-3 demerit points. The culture VicRoads in their ever increasing climb in greed is doing to Victorian road users will produce some of the most dangerous drivers you will ever see. Why, because vic drivers now do anything but concentrate on the road, with the no coppers out there, you have people fully immersed in a conversation with the cell phone stuck to the side of their head, driving with their knees while the other hand selects music. But the best ive seen so far was a lady overtake me while she read some report she held against the steering wheel all while in her other hand she was having that all important cell phone conversation, why didnt a camera snap her ? Was their a cop anywhere to be seen ? stupid questions really , a high five for some exceptional multitasking skills she possesed, may i never see her on the same road as me ever again. So what happened there ? People adapted lol, theyve learned that particular road has no speed camera’s and even if it did, i’ts looking for speeders, not horrifically bad road users. Nice one VicRoads your new road user culture is well under way.
Wake up babies. Don’t speed. Don’t get a fine. Don’t like it? Don’t drive. “Its not speeding its the bad drivers” Grow up. You crying babies are the worst drivers of all. If you can’t match what the speedo says to what the sign says then perhaps you should consider surrendering your licence and lettin the rest of us get on with it.
Hey Nuckle Head, not all of us are sheep that like to revoke our civil liberties.
At least we have the balls to stand up and tell it like it is. Chances are, if it smells like sh1t…
If the Police/government are serious in saving lives / stop speed then they would put serious pressure on the car manufacturers to restrict their cars they bring to market, because releasing hipo cars to the market with all that marketing around them I think is one of the primary drivers for someone to speed in the first place…
To me the police are living two lives, one to serve and protect and the other to make and ensure revenue flows.
Funny example, the other day I was walking in the city and some drunk disorderly guy was swearing and abusing property and his surroundings, two cops past by smiled at him and kept walking talking to each other and occassionally looked back when the drunk got rowdy again… until out of sight.