Mobile speed cameras in NSW to boost revenue to $570m

By George Skentzos | June 10th, 2010

The NSW government has announced plans to introduce privately operated and unmarked mobile speed cameras to the state’s roads in a bid to boost revenue.

The state reaped $291m from fines alone in the last financial year, and this figure is set to soar to $428m next year and almost double to $570m by 2012 as a direct result of these speed cameras.

NSW motorists have apparently become savvy to the location of fixed speed cameras which raked in $4m less in the last budget year – creating a deficit which the government intends to plug with more speed cameras.

The government’s stance on the matter is that the program is expected to encourage safe driving behaviour while conveniently emptying the wallets of NSW motorists.

Opposition roads spokesman Andrew Stoner has labelled the move as a blatant revenue-raising tactic and that the government’s forecast for $137m in extra revenue accounted for 20 per cent of the planned surplus the Labor government expected to return for 2010-11.

“This means the state’s fiscal position now relies on more motorists speeding on our roads,” Mr Stoner said. “Speed cameras should be there to deter motorists from driving dangerously, not to raise revenue.”

With NSW police earning a reputation as revenue collection officers, the state government has now removed the thin veil of authority and handed over the task of ‘keeping our roads safe’ to private operators.

Unlike a strong police presence, the use of these unmarked mobile speed cameras presents no immediate deterrent to speeding, with motorists only realising they have been caught when the fine (or should that be bill?) arrives in the mail.

The NRMA is seemingly unsupportive of the decision to introduce mobile speed cameras to Australia’s roads, indicating that the scheme would need to be reviewed regularly.

“If we notice in time that their revenue is increasing but the road toll has not come down, then I think we need to start asking some serious questions about their effectiveness,” a spokesman said.

“We also need to ensure that the cameras are placed in areas that have a known crash history so the revenue raised from those cameras goes back into road safety initiatives.”

The mobile speed camera initiative is already operating in other states where it remains unpopular, with CarAdvice just recently outing illegal operation of these cameras in Victoria.

Source: The Australian

yehright

There is enough tax on us as it is?
Labour government are bloody thieves!

Why isnt there a drivers education program for new drivers (L & P Platers) rather than just collecting the revenue.

Jumbo

You say that but don’t you think if you are breaking the law that you deserve to be caught?
Yes the way the government say they help with the road toll is wrong but my point still stands…
It is simple don’t speed and you won’t get caught and have to pay anything.

Yonny

Depends on the law being broken, as to whether or not you deserve to be caught. Citizens have long demonstrated contempt for poorly thought out or just plain stupid laws.

Frankly, all that the various state governments have managed to prove over the years with the number of camera-detected speeding offences issued is just how safe speeding (exceeding the posted speed limit) really is. That is, it is not intrinsically dangerous.

Also, the current regulations are a blunt object – there is no finesse. What I mean is, exceeding the speed limit in a 60 zone is treated exactly the same as exceeding the speed limit in a 110 zone. How is that sensible? Doing 60 in a 40 zone is way more potentially dangerous than doing 130 in 110 zone.

Don’t imagine either that I’m arguing against the use of all speed cameras (or speed limits as well) – I’m not. We need limits, but at present logic has left the speeding debate and we are all being treated as cash cows by greedy state governments. The various state government transport ministers wear a sh!t-eating grin on TV while they claim they don’t want to raise any money from speed cameras, but they rake in the money regardless and it forms an ever larger part of “normal” government revenue.

Here’s a prediction for you – the use of these new mobile speed cameras will not reduce the road toll. If they don’t the use of these cameras should probably be discontinued.

Mariusz

Police don’t know how to calculate percentages, they don’t teach them in police school. So that’s why they treat 60 in a 40 zone the same as 130 in a 110 zone.

ABMPSV

Labour..why under Liberal we do not need to pay. All government is after your money. Speed camera should be set up to get a fine you must do say 10% over the limit and even than max should be $50. If you do say 30km/h over the limit $500.
Pete of Prestons

But there is a driver education program. It’s contained in the handbooks you get from your local autority (RTA in NSW). It clearly says, “It is an offence to exceed the posted speed limit.” What part of that do these new drivers fail to understand?
People seem to forget that nobody forces them to drive and if they do, nobody forces them to exceed the speed limit. Where’s the problem?
As a good mate told me, “Driving on NSW’s roads is like being a member of the Voluntary Contribution Scheme. If you don’t want to contribute to that scheme, don’t break the road rules. The choice is yours.”

Toby

But there is a driver education program. It’s contained in the handbooks you get from your local autority (RTA in NSW). It clearly says, “It is an offence to exceed the posted speed limit.” What part of that do these new drivers fail to understand?
People seem to forget that nobody forces them to drive and if they do, nobody forces them to exceed the speed limit. Where’s the problem?
As a good mate told me, “Driving on NSW’s roads is like being a member of the Voluntary Contribution Scheme. If you don’t want to contribute to that scheme, don’t break the road rules. The choice is yours.”

Speeding is agaisnt the Law. The problem people are having is how the Government is going about reducing fatal crashes. Most crashes that involve speed have other more dangerous factors at play. These include driver fatigue, poor judgement, unroadworthy vehicles, distractions and very poor driver training. The Government is doing very little effort in these areas and the speeding laws are just seen as revenue gathering.

Wayne Kerr

If I could have my way in politics. I’d get rid of all mobile speed cameras (including cops with radar guns) and leave only the fixed speed cameras on dangerous roads.

Furthermore, I’d legalise marijuana and tax it for revenue. Truth be told marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, and it is impossible to overdose.

TomJ

You would be a very bad politician than. Marijuana creates long term mental effects, people who regularly smoke weed are very slow and not as mentally ‘there’ as regular citizens.

But legalizing marijuana they are as a matter of public policy saying that its ok. People will say “well its legal now why not try it?”

You would see state wide productivity (because it is a state issue as criminal law is a delegated power) decrease significantly.

Shak

not delegated, residual.

TomJ

I have to wonder if this could be challenged as an improper delegation of executive power…
Jon

Enough is enough! Drivers will lose their license and their job….

Jumbo

And they don’t deserve that if they continue to speed. Doesn’t matter if they are mobile or not. It is a matter of they were speeding on that road and they got caught. Does this mean those people speed when they don’t think a camera is watching them.

devil666

Jumbo, your views are out of date and are too mechanical and hard edge. Who are you to say the road is deserving of 80km/h speed limit. Who is the Government and the RTA to also brand speed limits? Roads are variable and should not have static limits.

By the black and white nature of speed cameras and electronics, 81km/h is speeding on a 80km/h road. Can you drive to exactly no excess of speed while still maintaining the limit? No. Car speedo’s aren’t that accurate, nor should you spend so much time looking at your speedo. That is dangerous.

Who’s to say that at the particular time you were on the road on that particular day with that particular amount of traffic, 80km/h was a safe speed. Maybe it was wet, and 80km/h was no longer a safe speed. Yet it is not considered speeding, because you are following a static figure based on politics.

Roads in general are designed to cater for the lowest common denominator, and by that definition are artificially handicapped at times when it would be safer travel at a higher speed.

Basically the whole system needs to be thrown out the window and we need to start again. More importantly, law is designed to adapt and reflect society. If the majority of society is speeding, law should reflect that.

Jackie

Excellent points, Devil666.

ox

If anything it’s going to make the roads more dangerous as paranoid drivers will keep checking their speed more often instead of watching the road ahead of them. There should be like a 10kmph buffer so that they catch out only the real offenders. But then again it’s realy not about road safety.

Jumbo

This is why I would like to see heads up displays mandatory on new cars.

Hung Low

How about a sign on your forehead stating ‘gullible twit’ instead?

You obviously are one of those peddler’s for the whole ‘speed kills’ propaganda!
If you were open minded enough to acknowledge that an accident involves a large amount of variable’s such as;
Drivers skill, weather, traffic, road condition, vehicle grip and mechanicals, available light,drugs & alcohol, other road users and fatigue for a few. Add in the fact that the inclusion of speed makes up only a small percentage of all the variables, proves that the ‘speed kills’ propaganda is just a cash cow that is the easiest to target and market!
Realistically road statistics will fail to reveal that the actual amount of crashes that are directly and solely related to speed as the only contributing factor are less than 1%!
So tell me Jumbo, out of the 1000′s of different crimes that occur daily, why is it speed re-enforcement that occupies most of the tax payers Police resources again????

RoFlmaTiC

Hung Low,

Who do you think is more likely to die?

a) A driver who crashes because he/she is smsing on the phone, travelling at 100kmh.

b) A driver who crashes because he/she is smsing on the phone, travelling at 60kmh.

In neither scenario is speed the cause of the accident, but you can be certain that the driver travelling at 100kmh is more likely to be in a fatal accident.

Speed might not cause accidents, but it irrefutably increases the chance that a given accident is fatal.

Hung Low

So you are saying that all other probabilities and scenarios are a constant?
One can say that the car at 100km/h just missed a crossing truck and the car travelling 60km/h hit it square on due to timing ! Who is better off now keeping in mind that speed is not the cause of the accident?
The chances that all other variables as mentioned previously occur at the same constant in a unintentional accident scenario is probable to a point of less than 1%.
RoFlmaTiC

Pfft, with the same reasoning you could say that due to timing, the 100kmh car could be hit by the truck, effectively negating your argument.

It’s simple physics mate.

You can test it youself by banging your head against your desk. Now increase the speed of you head and try again.
Hung Low

Roflmatic: Try banging your head at increased speed with a helmet on and slower speed without! Which one hurts?
In a language normal to everyone else, that is relative to the braking and safety of a modern car vs a clapped out bomb in crash avoidance (another variable)!

If the Physics are so simple, you should have a formula at hand that proves the Speed Kills theory! When you do I will nominate you for the Nobel peace prize~!

Walid

Citizens like you, Jumbo, are the ones who were instrumental in the creation of totalitarian states.
Hitler, Lenin/Stalin, Mao etc didn’t just jump into power – they’re bullsh*t ideas were supported by fools like you.

I’m not saying Australia is on the verge of becoming a dictatorship, but we need to make the most out of our democracy.

We can’t just nod yes to everything the government throws at us like a ventriloquist’s doll! We need to assess the hidden reasons behind the “we are doing this because it’s best for you” facade.

Look at what they did to Epping Rd to build traffic for the Lane Cove Tunnel! Now think: did Labour have us in their thoughts or the company who was building tunnel? (just an example)

So when it comes to speed cameras, do you really think our government is concerned about your safety? haha

WAKE UP!

Walid

their* ideas…

Hung Low

Roflmatic,

Obviously banging your head on the desk is as complicated as physics and probability gets for you! I will give you credit that your analogy is correct for that example, but its hardly relative to what happens on the roads!

What if the faster car was a GTR with the better tyres and braking ability and the slower a clapped out 120Y, both try to avoid the accident? ( In your terms, you wore a helmet when you banged your head on the desk at greater speed VS no helmet at slower speed)

If the differential in speeds as the cause of an accident is simple physics, then you should not have a problem with providing all of us here with a proven formula!
When you get that formula, I will nominate you for the Nobel Peace prize.

Mark

Enough words!!! I want to see some stats. For example has a speed cash machine placed at a certain intersection or road reduced the crash/fatality rates at that location at all? The government has the obligation to show us and prove these things work, or get rid of them. The text is 100% correct. This revenue raising is completely reliant on people breaking the law. It’s what they NEED us to do!

It has also been said many times that if everyone challenged their fines it would cause the system to implode. It simply could not cope.
laurie

These cameras are in the same class as poker machines, the only difference is the jackpot & payouts go to the government

laurie
svd

What would happen if speed cameras were removed? Would the public then all obey the speed limit and not speed?
Would there be drivers who having a car which is built for high speed then think are I have a safer car than the one next to me so I should go faster? Would the end result be non survivable accidents because of the speed or worse more maimed occupants who need lifelong care? Would the insurance on vehicles skyrocket because of the greater severity of accidents? Best way is for everyone to drive within the speed limit rendering speed cameras un economic.

Jumbo

Exactly. Everyone complains about speed cameras but if you aren’t speeding in the first place you won’t get caught and you won’t pay a fine and then the government will realise speed cameras are un econominc and REMOVE them. It is quite plane.
Yes I have been caught for speeding before but I did’t complain as I was doing the wrong thing. Even if it was just me not being wary of the slight slope I was on that managed to make me gain an extra 7 kp/h before the camera.

macca

They’re copying the Victorian Labor government. if you can forecast a dollar figure in the budget (projecting profits for the year ahaed), then it’s revenue raising.

Transport minister Tim Pallas (Vic Labor) once said ‘we hope we get a massive hole in the budget if people don’t get booked’. well Mr Pallas, being within 10% of the speed limit is human nature. The real question is, will you give all speed camera revenue to charity – seeing you say you don’t want the money? Of course not! Hypocrites.

paulo

Actually Victoria has had speed cameras for many years, I think since the early 90′s

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1435885244 Yani Hendriawan

well when i’m in a hurry i speed when there’s no cars around and slow down when i see one lol

Valet Dabess

haha hells yeah i do that too

Dennis

Thats what you get for voting labour..

Anyone up for a $26,000 per square metre Canteen?
ST

I’ll be sure to look at the road rather than the speedo. I’m a driver that looks at the road, traffic and the road conditions rather than worry about 1km/h. If we’re that worried about being 1km/h over the threshold of being booked, why not book people for not driving within their lanes and not deviated off it by 5cm? Holding a speed is a skill like pointing a car accurately.

If the govt was REALLY serious about speeding and that we as the public cannot be trusted, then put in fixed GPS locked speed limits on every car right now. Forget all this airy fairy half hearted measures to stop people speeding. Why not just nip it in the bud and just prevent anyone doing it. I dare you! I double dare you do introduce it Mr Govt!

JEKYL & HYDE

HERE IS A GOOD NEWS STORY..

a few coppers have lost their licence,and been fined by their own dept for speeding in their hwy patrol cars.the gps device in their own cars recorded them speeding,and when they had no good reason for doing so presto,welcome to the other side of the fence…

Sick of Muscle Cars

If speed really is the issue for accidents and if the government is committed enough to care for its people than instead of setting up unmarked mobile speed cameras, they should install one speed camera for every road that streches straight for 4-5kms with clear signs. The average speed will automatically come down which impacts the high speed crashes directly.

We all know this is a cheap trick by the NSW govt to generate more revenue.Shame Shame!!!
Ronster

For those of us not happy with this typical cash grab B.S. from our state government, then come next election do as i will be doing and make the bastards unemployed. They won’t listen any other way and sadly the NRMA seems to be a toothless tiger and not helping to represent its members opinion (be reviewing membership here too).
RoFlmaTiC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5SBr4VsNlY&feature=player_embedded

Fifth Gear (UK show) tested the impact of enforcing speed limits – even they conceded that speed is an important consideration in the fatality of a given accident, notwithstanding the cause.
BIG JIM

Anyone read Motor last month? Here are some interesting facts.

Around 98% of fatal crashes occur at or below the speed limit.

Of the remaining 2%, 50% of those were driving illegally in addition to being over the speed limit. In other words, they were involved in a chase, were in a stolen car, were unlicenced or unregistered, were drunk or under the influence of other intoxicants, or involved in some other illegal and dangerous activity at the time of the accident. Yet speed gets listed as a contributing factor. For example, if the person driving illegally is doing 80km/h in an 80 zone, and passes into a 70km/h zone and has an accident 50 metres into that zone, speed will be listed as a factor in that accident. Had the accident occured 55 metres back, speed would NOT have been listed as a factor. See where I’m going with this?

Of ALL fatal crashes, only 1% were as a result of people over the speed limit but otherwise driving legally. What we don’t know of that 1% is what other contributing factors were at work, was there mechanical failure, road conditions, collision avoidance or other contributing factors that actually had a greater influence on the crash than speed itself? We don’t know but it’s safe to assume that there must have been in at least some cases.

Therefore, less than 1% of crashes involve people driving over the limit but otherwise legally. To my mind, given that 98% of crashes occur at or below the speed limit, makes speed such a small factor that it is a negligible contributor overall. So why the hell do police and politicians spend a disproportionate amount of time enforcing something that causes less than 1% of crashes?

Revenue.

When was the last time you saw, or even heard, of someone being fined for tailgating? Tailgating is just one example of dangerous behaviour that goes unchecked on our roads.

In Montana, the speed limit was raised a few years back. Montana has since recorded a reduction in road deaths. Conversely, the Northern Territory reduced unlimited speed zones to 130km/h. Fatalaties have now gone up 35%! Get that? 35%! There was never an open road toll worth recording in NT. Deaths were almost exclusively as a result of people wiping themselves and others out in and around town as a result of their being off-their-face drunk. So what did the government do? Nothing. Other than lower speed limits which had nothing to do with the issue in the first place. The families of those since killed on the open roads can look at their politicians as responsible for the loss of their loved ones.
http://caradvice Annoyed One

Some really relevant comments here on the inclusion of speed in the factor of road deaths.

I would guarantee that every pro speed camera advocate here that supports the speed kills campaign has never traveled outside of this country to European countries where countries have sections of no speed limits or 130k on freeways.

These countries have the lower % of population killed.

Its revenue..full stop and is proven where cameras have been removed.. fatalities drop

Don’t agree with driving under the influence of Marijuana but certainly think that majority of illegal drugs should be made legal through prescription to eliminate the black market.Free up Police to concentrate on other crimes instead of the losing war on drugs.

People should have the right to take personal responsibility for there own life decisions.
Kick Labour Out

If the Keneally government had a genuine intention to encourage safe driving in NSW then her incompetent government would have encourage all NSW drivers to become better drivers by paying for their BMW safe driving course.
This government but really is a money, power and status hungry government full of thugs and criminals.

Hung Low

The RTA seems to be its own powerhouse these days, dictating to a Paper Tiger like the Labor Party!

ohreally

If money wasn’t the goal why do they have number crunchers posing predictions for next years revenue from the cameras?

Should they not be estimating the no of expected lives saved?

ElecEng

Can’t agree more.
Unfortunately, if they did try to predict the # of saved lives, they’ll be proven wrong and had to admit it.

http://www.caradvice.com.au Jim Goose

Yes,they’re a pack of thieves who want your money.We give them stamp duty,petrol taxes,registration fees and of course,fines revenue. If you don’t like it,sell your car and walk,or simply ease up on the throttle.Its your prerogitive. If you want to get back at them,stay on the limit and deprive them of your hard earned dollars-you have that choice. Kinda like grizzling about being put behind bars because you robbed a bank.Slow up,or pay up.Of course they want your money-they’re the government. Use your brains!
Falcodore

It wasn’t that long ago the NSW gov lowered the amount of demerit points for lower speeding offences but INCREASED the fines!

Why? Because too many people were losing their licences. Which meant a significant loss of revenue from licence and rego renewals.

Make no mistake people, its all about the money and its about time the silent majority found their voice and lobbied their local MP.

On a side note, what about cars going too slow? A car doing 60 in a 100 zone is WAY more dangerous than someone doing 10k’s over the limit.
Monster

Really now, some people in here are absolutely brain dead, I am amazed that some of you are actually intelligent enough to use a computer, congratulations.

Yes we should all obey those ridiculously unreasonable speed limits, yes we should all allow the government to blatantly take money from us so we can see them going down the drain, or into their pockets. If you are the type of people who agree to what I just said, then please give me your bank account details, I have better use of your money.

The current speed limits of 50km/h, 60km/h are way too low on a lot of roads. Just because people drive above these retarded speed limits, it doesn’t mean it is dangerous.

What the government is doing, is “kinda” like robbing the bank, then self righteously declaring it is for the common good. When the government is corrupted, the people have the right to disobey, they have the right to object, this is called using our brains.

The article said the revenue generated by the fix speed camera fell by $4million, this proves people have backed off their throttle. Of course the government is not pleased, so they used our money to hire these mercenaries and take more money from us.

Here is another way of looking at it, can one of you supporters explain to me, why didn’t the government say anything about the potential number of accidents reduced, or lives saved by having these new speed cameras? They only mention the amount of revenue they can generate from them. That, people is the irrefutable proof that the government is after our money and nothing else.
Shak

I was reading top gear today and i cam across an article written by Bill Mckinnon. Put Simply he states the main reason why we have cameras and not education. greed. The Government acts like a business. they will never do something that requires capital outlay unless they can see a long term benefit. And also why would a business give up a major revenue source only to squander it on others. Put simply our government would much rather young kids die on the roads due to lack of experience, than give up having crazy first class flights to London and such. they are Simply the prime example of Capitalism.

Al Juraj

Not all 22 million Australians have access to a mobile service. Some others can get no more than dial-up internet to this day despite broadband being introduced around the world decades ago. We don’t have access to the latest in medical equipment to cure serious illnesses. Our roads are pathetic. Our range of cars is very limited (even NZ gets more models).

But our speed detecting devices are world class, among the most innovative of all. We pay tax so they can buy these things to be used against us, then we pay again if we get caught.
ElecEng

I’ll tell them the long term benefits.
If less speed camera = less accidents or vice versa:
1. Less hospital costs.
2. Less Court costs.
3. Less prison maintenance costs.
4. More people being alive = happier families = better as a nation overall.
5. More political votes for them.
6. More police available to fight real crime = crime reduction = see point 4
7. I’m sure there are more….

Al Juraj

This is like AIDS. They are here to stay, and there’s nothing we can do about it. They will continue prowling about our roads like magnets to our hard earned money. They are bullies. They have guns. They threaten seizure of property and imprisonment to those who refuse to comply. And we say this country is democratic?
Mark

Jim Goose, you really are a Goose.

Behave and you won’t get caught? Do as the Government wants and everything will be OK? You can vote you labour pals back in if you like (or maybe you work for a speed camera company), but I’m all for turfing out any party that has oppressive stupid money-above-commonsense mentalities. You have to let them know that we WILL do something about this. I’m surprised that people aren’t trashing these fixed cameras and paintballing the mobile ones! As I mentioned previously, if you want to bring the system down, challenge your fine – everyone of us that is. Or, if you REALLY want to do some damage, pick a day where we ALL speed past these units, THEN challenge the fine.

http://www.caradvice.com.au Jim Goose

Mark,I have better things to do than sit in court challenging fines. If your unhappy about the speed limits,take it to your local member.I may obey the limits like a goody2shoes….but it does mean I still have a licence! It dosn’t matter who’s in power,they will want your money. Fining those who break the law rather than icreasing taxes from other areas to meet quotas is realistically a good idea.

mcl334

I hope some of these privately operated and unmarked mobile speed cameras operators have a run in with a few irate bikers and need police protection then we’ll be able see where there setup!!
Save It for the Track

As long as NSW doesn’t adopt the draconian Victorian 2 or 3km/h variance, I have no problem. The only issues i see is with training and set-up of the equipment. It had better be very easy to use, because if any special angles and the like is needed and they are not set-up properly, people will be improperly fined.
.
Oh and as I repeatedly say, I have booked people for tailgating, not keeping left, failing to indiacte and just about any other offence one could name. The reason these things aren’t actioned as much as speeding is simply because many people behave themselves when seeing marked Police vehicles, and some offences take more time than others and require a longer list of “proof’s” to action.
.
Overseas roads, such as German autobahns are constructed with excellent sight lines and adequate road surface to allow for higher speed-limits. all too many NSW and other states roads have many factors that make speed-limits necessary.
A competent driver does not need to keep looking at their speedo, and as it is a casual quick glance at the speedo should be part of an ACTIVE driver’s routine of scanning the road ahead (foreground and distance), checking mirrors and generally being awake, aware and pro-active in their driving, as opposed to too many who are busy having in depth conversations with passnegers, talking on mobile phones, fiddling with ipods, being engrossed in music or simply day dreaming.
It is very simple and easy to drive within the speed-limits, whether you agree with them or not.
Dave

What would happen if speed cameras were removed?

Answer: Nothing

Speed camera dont save lives.
Nothing about speed cameras saves lives
Nothing in this report suggest the government are trying to save lives
http://www.caradvice.com.au Jim Goose

It dosn’t matter who’s in charge in NSW,you’ll be fined if you speed.I was fined about 6 times when Greiner was in power,and O’Farrell is saying all the right things on this matter as he wants to be elected. Will he remove speed cameras and chase revenue elsewhere? Don’t think so. Just for the record,I vote Liberal,though Kristina Keneally is rather cute…….
Jackie

Okay when is this next NSW election? I usually don’t vote but this year I will be running to the voting booth, making my vote count. But one question: which government is anti-speed cameras?????
Samson Knight

I dont think the Govt realises how short their vision actually is. When the average business owner loses their licence accumulating the 12 points they pay fines usually between $450 to $800. That is an assumed profit for the State but they havent done their home work. Keep a busness registered vehicle off the road for say 3 months there is an immediate potential loss in revenue of about $900 to $1200 over the 3 months in loss of taxes on Fuel Tolls etc. Now when a business owner loses his licence he has a limited capacity to earn. Their is another $20,000 to $25000 over 3 months of lost revenue through income taxes, so there is another say $3900 in potential lost revenue. So when the Government fines you $800 and you lose your licence they are actually making a loss of approx $4600. I know this as ive just spent 3 months off the road.. did my sums and smiled
http://andre99@triathlete.com Andrew

Sheer stupidty on the Government’s part: fine enough people you will efectively drive them off the road. Massive petrol prices + “safety” cameras (= revenue raisers) = people not driving unless absolutely essential. Talk about cutting your own throat!