Mobile speed camera advertising campaign

By Brett Davis | June 28th, 2010

The NSW government launched a $1.2 million TV advertising campaign last night, warning motorists of the six new mobile speed cameras that are going to be used throughout NSW.

For those who don’t remember, the NSW government will be using six new (digital) mobile speed cameras as a part of a 170 million-dollar plan to reduce the state’s road toll. The cameras will be operated by unmarked civilians and put up around the state from July 19. The cars are said to be marked though, as the government has said that this is not a revenue-raising exercise.

Roads Minister David Borger said in a statement on Sunday, “This is not about raising revenue, it is about saving the lives of people who use NSW roads.”

Borger also said that for the first month, offending drivers will simply receive a warning, which he hopes will smooth the introduction of the cameras.

The opposition has expressed that highly-visible, well-marked police vehicles are the way to go though. Andrew Stoner, the opposition for roads said, “Highway patrol officers offer more than speed cameras, they identify crimes taking place, pull over the offenders and issue fines on the spot.”

The advertising campaign will run until August 28.

Dave

I think they missed out the bit about, how exaactly a speed camera saves lives. I still dont follow how the camera can reduce the road toll.

Family Guy

The concept is simple. If the risk and punishment of getting caught is greater than the benefit, then people will slow down. This is a long term strategy and will not necessarily stop the speeding at the time.

Let’s get this straight, reckless speeding kills. The idiot that blast past me at 50K over the limit on a corner should be punished (a lot!).

I don’t have a problem with speed limits being enforced. However if I’m doing a few KMH over the limit on a straight road in good weather, then the application of the law leaves a lot to be desired. It’s the reasonable application of the speeding laws that’s the problem for me.

http://internode.on.net Old Pete

Family Guy, I take your point but the repeat offender never takes any notice of the fine or loss of points.

There are drivers in NSW who have lost their licence for over 30+ years and still drive recklessly/fast/dangerously with apparent impunity. By the law of averages the idiot who speeds past you at 50KPH over the limit will not (if ever) get caught. However, after he turns off the road (or runs off the road) and you continue into town at 64KPH you WILL get booked and being (I am assuming here) an honest person will pay the fine and have the points deducted.

Pauly states further on “where is the war on …”. I tend to agree. Where is the war on shit general driving: not indicating off round-abouts, in some instances not indicating at all, trailers with crap/broken lights, cars with crap tyres (these are the responsibility of the driver), tailgating, abusing/flashing/horn blowing at drivers in a 40KPH zone (I was travelling at 50KPH … too scared to slow down), overtaking on double unbroken lines. The list could go on but this is what I have seen in just the 3-4 several weeks.

Anyways … enough of a rant.
Jester

Well, listen Family Guy – maybe if you drive as per the speed limit than people wouldn’t overtake you on corners. I see this all the time. Speed limit 100 and people drive 25-30, seriously, and when I overtake them people for sure say “bloody hoon” even if I go past them doing 80,90. People like you are as much problem on our roads as much as idiots that really hoon and endanger others.

Des

Nice one Jester, I guess you were the idiot doing the 50 over that Family Guy was talking about. I cant remember the last time I found someone in a 100 zone doing 25-30, get serious. I think you are living in fantasy world my boy.

Danio

Well Des i lived that fantasy last week when someone with no idea how to drive, trying to enter the M5 doing less than 60 on a 110 part of the motorway. There a more poeple driving to slow causing accidents than people speeding. How about some campaigns to teach people how to drive properly?? maybe then people wouldnt get frustrated and speed to get past these idots. start raising revenue by forcing anyone who is involved in an accident to attend driver training or something! lets aslo book these idiots for driving soi slow!
Yawn@sickofsalesman

You need to come drive in melbourne if you have never seen this

Yonny

Yeah, well, Dave, it sorta reminds me of that South Park epsiode featuring the underpants gnomes, with their 2nd phase (of a 3 phase plan for success) being expressed as a question mark. Phase 3 of their plan was Profit, of course.

Until the government legislates itself the power to hold you bodily upside down by the leg as it shakes the money out of your pocket, it has to be content with scamming money out of the poor motorist in the pretense of lowering the road toll.

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

if you get caught within the first month it’s just a warning. kinda encourages me to speed if i were down there

Cinderella

I guess you will be having a drink while texting as well?
Jester

You are an idiot.

The only reason we have speed limits is for people like you. If everyone is normal and uses their head speed limits shouldn’t be required.

ST

What if you don’t see the speed camera, go past it, get caught in a photo and then continue to cause a major accident? What benefit did the “speed camera” achieved? Would it have saved people from the trauma of the major accident?

All it achieved was:
1) You got the person on the camera for speeding. Points deducted yada yada
2) Extra $$ tax for the NSW Govt Pty Ltd.

If this is not revenue raising, then what is? If the Govt Pty Ltd doesn’t trust us to drive at the speed limit that they claim will make us safe, then restrict everyone on a GPS limiter.

AB

I have often wondered about this scenario myself.

Particularly whether the victims who werent at fault could have the avenue to sue the State Government for neglect of duty by falsely claiming their ‘speed cameras’ are saving lives by reducing speed.

A business can currently be fined by Work Cover if an employee is injured, even if that business has provided all reasonable safety precautions.

Think of us motorists as the employess and the State Governments Road Networks are the business.

Take this concept further for Companies like Eastlink and Transurban where the roads ARE their business & source of income and I think a smart lawyer could make a case
AB

However I am totally against GPS Speed Limiting devices

ST

I too am against GPS limiters but if we’re not trusted to drive at a reasonable speed given the circumstances, then maybe the govt would just take our rights away from us.

I’m so sick of this every k over the limit is a killer BS. The message I’m seeing is that driving 1 under the limit means I’ll be guaranteed to be safe knowing I’ll be cushioned by white soft feathers but 1 over will send me into lava and burn in hell?

If any govt was serious about making sure 1) people drive to the conditions, 2) people don’t drive like a numpty cutting in and out, 3) people provide a safety buffer between each other, then there’s nothing more to control all these than having a highly visible patrol car. Not only do you also get people to drive safely but also provide presence to other crimes other than road infringements… but oh noes!! that won’t make the Govt Pty Ltd any money! we wouldn’t want that!!!!!

http://internode.on.net Old Pete

ST, loved the analogies … white feathers, lava hell …LOL.

How many people are saying “If I kill someone it will not be because of speed … it will be because I’m not watching the road – only the speedo!”

If they (the Govt, safety experts, Harold Scruby) are serious about GPS limiters then let them apply such devices to the chronically stupid who continually get caught driving at excessive speed.

Pauly

Is the NSW Government going to state in those Ad’s where the money from all the speeding fines goes?

All that money should be pumped back into making roads safer and to offer NSW drivers with proper driver training!!!

Cameras are only a small part of the solution to stop people speeding. And speeding is only a very small part of why accidents happen.

- Accidents can happen from poor training behind the wheel.

- Accident can happen from poor quality roads.

- Accidents can happen from old cars without new safety features.

All this money from speed camera’s I dont have an issue with. Its the fact that this money they generate is not being used on anything constructive to stop the road toll from rising. This war on speed is the completely wrong attitude to have.

- Where is the war on owning shit cars?
- Where is the war on rubbish quality roads?
- Where is the war on this stupid idea that young drivers should own cheap and nasty cars? They should be driving the safest cars on the roads, and incentives should be in place for this.
- Where is the war on having road worthy done each time a cars rego comes up for renewal?

Until the QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, WA, NT, ACT Governments get rid of these old, out of touch people out of power, and actually get some people incharge that understand how a car actually operates.

These are the same idiots that are in power who put blanket bans on Turbo and Super charged cars. When these cars have the same power to weight ratio as your average Commodore of Falcon? Why? These Turbo and Super charged cars are generally safer and more environmentally friendly.

Ray Stone

Agree, however, in most cases it is crap drivers that cause accidents. Mandatory testing every 2 years to renew all licenses with remedial training for those who don’t pass. Can any road safety expert or politician deny this would not have an immediate effect in reducing the road toll? Unfortunately, too many people would fail and politicians would lose votes and ……. not going to happen.

http://internode.on.net Old Pete

Ray, I sort of agree. The big negative on this is the excessive cost to re-test every 2 years. Maybe we should have training/testing similar to some European countries?

Ray Stone

Pete the cost is dead people. My point is that Governments are not serious or they would take serious action. So the cost of the testing should be subsidised. The way Governments waste our money this would be just a drop in the bucket. They financially rape the motorist like no other individual in the community so maybe just give a fraction back. Regarding the European example, part of a solution but the problem is not just new drivers, I got my license 40 years ago, never been tested, and have probably just got good at doing things bad.

Jon

That photo on the top is old model of Ford Fiesta in England!!
Eric

has anyone travelled at the limit in good weather and no cars or anything for you to potentially ram into?

This country is too big for the speed limits we have. Im more likely to get bored, fall asleep then swerve into the other lane and kill a young family and their toodlers.

black market radar jammer anyone?

Dale

I agree that our speed limits are often too low, and often too inconsistent (you can pass 3+ different speed limits on a single stretch of road). Unfortunately a radar jammer isn’t going to stop one of these cameras from catching you out.
BIG JIM

I personallly use ghostplates and a beltronics sti.

danielsrbin

does it work ?

Dave

The cameras around where we live are placed inside a 4×4 way off the road in the bushes. Unmarked X-trail.

Where is the camera to detect:
- sleepy drivers
- drink drivers
- drugged drivers
- people talking on ther phone
- unroadworthy cars?

cant remember the last time i saw a breathaliser, not that long ago since i saw a camera on the side of the road/ police catching drivers going down a hill

Muttley

I would be walking over around that X-trail with a bucket of loose nails sprinkled all over its pathway out!
Des

The bane of my existence in the late 70′s and 80′s were Highway Patrol, they were everwhere, even turning up on backroads. In the Hunter Valley they were like poison, really strict, similarly on the Hay plains and the Hume Hwy. Of course they had quotas to fill back then. But what an excellent deterent they were. You learnt to indicate, not straight line roundabouts, keep to the left, not do U turns over unbroken lines, all those things the cameras miss. Where are all the HWP now? Road safety in not just about speed and red light cameras.

Realistically, a good HWP force would be self funding and if used as an educational force and not just as a revenue source they would be a much needed boost to road safety.

Yonny

Yes! I did a lot of my driving in the Newcastle/Hunter Valley area in the late 70′s/early 80′s and I remember how omnipresent the HWP used to be… They seemed to be everywhere, and you really paid attention to the rules if for no other reason than to avoid talking to a Highway Patrol officer.

But, as we know, it’s all about the money and one speed camera can bring in more money than a fleet of Highway Patrol cars, they don’t take time off, don’t need to drive around in big V8s. Just once I’d like to gear a roads minister admit what we all know to be the truth….

timmy201

Wont all the extra fines result in more disqualified drivers hence less income for the government from fines?

And IF you want a job as one of these “Mobile Camera Operators”, check out seek.com and help ruin our state
Pauly

How do we get a job in the transport sectors of each of these states so we can have some people with some common sense making these laws?
justwatchin

This is just the foot in the door, no police supervision of speed detection devices or responsibility for calibration of same? The inmates are now in charge of the asylum, look what happened to parking offenses when the duty of issuing infringement notices for parking was taken from the Police (special constables) and given to the council to enforce, mayhem ensued and parking meters popped up everywhere, No Standing, No Parking was abolished to make way for No Stopping so the maximum cash could be extracted from the hapless motorist who stops for any reason. Take a look at speed cameras, they started out with three warning signs and placed supposedly only in black spot areas, now they are everywhere and in busy (visually) zones with only one warning so you cant see them, the Orwellian society is here, you just wont/cant see it. Remember, its for your own good, like the old phrase, I’m here to help you, I’m from the government, Unless these are the first words you hear from a Naval interception (welcoming committee) and you just arrived on a boat from Indonesia I seriously doubt it.
Dennis

“NSW government launched a $1.2 million TV advertising campaign last night”

“The NSW government will be using six new (digital) mobile speed cameras as a part of a 170 million-dollar plan to reduce the state’s road toll”

WTF, 171 Million Dollars? Are you serious??? Seriously have a look at some of the road in NSW first…
Shak

Simple fact is, If they want to show us it isnt revenue raising, they should use the money to fund better roads, and driver education. Until they do that, they are still the same bloodsucking bastards that dont do anything for their people.
t

I got my photo taken on a thursday a few years ago… AND the saturday…. AND the sunday….

AND i saw the speed camera all 3 times. never knew i got snapped the first time. the speedo on my car was tested on a chasis dyno and proven to be 7 kmh out. so i never realised i was speeding.

the cameras never stopped me speeding over the weekend did they? if i were booked by a cop holding a radar, i would have known on the thursday that the car i purchased only a few days earlier, had a faulty speedo and i would have slowed down. ( OR MAYBE ARGUED WITH THE COP? ) but the cameras acheived NOTHING. except getting $450 from me.. well.. they never. I sent the dyno report proving my speedo was incorrect to the head of traffic cameras in brisbane and got the second 2 fines withdrawn.

i still have the letter here, along with all the photos!
Monster

O wait, did the road minster just said “This is not about raising revenue, it is about saving the lives of people who use NSW roads.”

Funny how the government has taken into account of the increased fine, sorry revenue generated by these extra cameras into their budget forecast.

Lets have a read shall we. “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.”

No figures of predicted reduction of accidents were given.
Bologna

NSW Gov’t at it’s best yet again. I loved the “not a revenue raising exercise” comment.

If that’s the case, I’d be really interested to see a report that shows the number of speeding related accidents has been reduced by x as a result of introducing this new scheme in the coming months.
Peter Griffen

Should that ILOAD be on the road with the airbag removed and the passenger seat still in place?
Robert

People that are saying what do speed cameras do, you should really think about it. for those that have been done by a speed camera, you know that the first thing you say is damn, why did i just speed. not to mention the 300 dollar fine. i don’t want to pay 300 to go over the limit 12 k’s. they might not save the lives that day but they would do in the long run
Winston Smith

I have to agree with “justwatchin” above. What I see is a progressive ratcheting up of enforcement over several years. Let’s list the things again:

1. Speed cameras. At first, in black spots only. With three large visible warning signs.

Now: can appear anywhere, often on freeways which are some of the safest spots around.

Now: being replaced by so-called “safety cameras” at intersections. Now only one small warning sign; easy to miss if not obscured by trees, telegraph poles, etc.

Now: “safety cameras” are moved around at random so the public never know where they are.

Then: police with portable radar units must post a sign “police radar in use”. Admittedly a small sign and admittedly after being monitored, but at least a sign.

Come July 19th: portable radar hidden in parked cars. No signage.

Then: visible flash. A visible flash alerts the speeding driver that they’ve been done and immediately alters behaviour toward compliance.

Now: infra-red flash. The flash can’t be seen by drivers and the camera itself is hidden, so being booked by one of these units cannot alter behaviour. The driver won’t know anything for weeks.

Then: simpler speed rules. 60 in built-up areas; higher speeds outside.

Now: time-and-date dependent speed limits in school zones. I sometimes wonder how people who don’t have kids or are tourists are supposed to know which days are school days and which are not? Not all of the zones have flashing lights to signify when they are active.

Now: limit varies between 40 and 60 in built-up zones. It can be difficult to keep track of the current speed limit, particularly when one is bombarded with signs from all sides, advertising, flashing lights, and avoiding pedestrians and other vehicles, etc. etc.

Then: 12 demerit points over 2 years.

Now: 12 demerit points over 3 years.

Now: Double demerit points on any holiday, any weekend adjacent to a holiday, and several days at a time in some cases. I don’t know if they’ve ever done triple demerit points in NSW but it seems like a terribly ad-hoc response to the problem of reducing the road toll.

Speed limits seem to be set without much common sense in the process. The M2 motorway westbound has a speed camera just before the tunnel. They increased the number of lanes from 2 to 3. For some reason that means the speed limit had to be reduced from 100 to 70. The road is the same; lanes a bit narrower only because they used the breakdown lane for traffic. A response to try to increase traffic flow during peak periods (and it may well do so, I don’t know) has the side-effect of slowing all traffic down by 30 km/h at all other times. I remember the M2 used to be 100 outside the toll booths; now it’s 80 first (same road condition) and then 70 for a few hundred metres before the tunnel.

I will also give the M4 some stick. The 90 zone drops to 70 through the chicane where the toll booths were. It’s over 4 months since the road became toll-free and we are still driving around bollards and pillars. When are they going to get rid of that stuff and make it a straight 90 through zone?
Ryan

Is it not worthy of a defect to remove an air bag

Dave

I would have thought it was illegal to remove safety equipment (such as airbags) that was standard issue on the cars release from the factory. Yellow sticker?

Save it for the track

The introduction of a third westbound lane on the M2 in Sydney before the Epping tunnel, saw the breakdown lane disappear. There is a very thin area in some places leading to the tunnel, but not what would normally comply as an effective breakdown lane. There is also NO breakdown lane inside the tunnel, and the creation of the third lane does not go west of the tunnel and thus there is a merge, which on many an afternoon causes collisions due to a combination of sun strike, impatient drivers, and tailgating. The M2 should have been three or four lanes each way with breakdown lanes from the start. the same lunacy has occurred with teh M7, with it being only two lanes each way. As for school zones, the simplest solution would be to drop the speed-limit on those sections for the whole day between say 7am and 5pm or similar, just like they do in Germany and other European countries.
Greg

Yes revenue hunting at its best when people dont know there being booked how does this slow anybody down they drive to there next destination unaware at the same speed wake up goverment we know your game now why dont you be honest with people the real answer if the goverment was really worried about the road toll is stick more cop cars out there at least if you see a cop car booking somebody or on the road it instantly make you look at what speed your doing
justwatchin

Good comment about the Toll Booths being removed but the straight run through and 90kph speed limit not being re-introduced, or Fixed, Why? call me a cynic but my guess is they plan to re-introduce the toll booths with the promise to complete the connection between the end of the M4 and the city, why else would they be keeping the road narrowing in place on Parramatta Road that was deliberately put there to cause congestion and push motorists on to the M4. They need to wait till after the next election to move on this.
Guess were the mushrooms here, Raised in the Dark and Fed on Bullshit.
Just a further foot note to the History Lesson above, remember these things that were introduced on a trial basis, remember the definition of a trial is
Examination of evidence and applicable law by a “competent” tribunal to determine the issue of specified charges or claims.
This statement was basically not correct as there was never any intention by the examining body to make a finding and end the trial in any other manner than the affirmative to them.,
Should things have gotten worse the statement would have read, (Imagine how bad things would have been had we not introduced this legislation) if the trial was successful (Look how great we are for doing this) You just can not win against this type of thinking.
The Cringing against the tide of Political correctness of the time making it the height of bad taste to challenge the boffins findings, if any were made any way, Remind you of the Global Warming Issue?
Think on these
1. Trial of 50KPH Speed Zones In Mosman
2. Trial of Speed Humps In Mosman
3. Trial of Road Closures In Mosman, This was challenged by the RTA and Lost in Court opening the door for Councils to take control of their local streets and gave the power to imbeciles to wreak carnage on our public streets. People who couldn’t hold a successful Chook Raffle doing as they pleased with our streets unquestioned.
4 Trial of RBT
5 Trial of Red Light Cameras
6. Trial of Speed Cameras
7. Trial of 40kph School Zones
8. Introduction of 3 x 3 Petrol Levy Only to Fix Hwy’s
9. Introduction of 6 x 6 Petrol Levy Only to Fix Hwy’s
Neither of these were ever repealed and have become part of Consolidated revenue. So the Govt has it in its power to make petrol 6c cheaper per litre but wont do it.
Never has anyone spoken out to moderate any of these Laws or put Restrictions on their usage. Its anything goes but for the Honeymoon period Signage is used till resistance is at a minimum. I hate to see it happening but it looks like civil dis-obedience will be the limiting factor in the end, you cant put brains in statues.
Think on this . You can get a good behavior bond for Murder but go to Jail and have your $60,000.00 car confiscated for speeding or burning out your tyres? Doh!