AT A time when NSW is suffering through a once-in-a-generation bushfire crisis, it is simply "irresponsible" to have the mobile speed camera vehicle parked in long, dry grass, as this photo shows.
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That's the view of the Rural Fire Service (RFS) Riverina zone's community safety officer, James Smith, who was stunned to see this photo when passed on by The Daily Advertiser yesterday.
The mobile speed camera was caught operating out of the long grass adjacent to the Sturt Highway between Forest Hill and Alfredtown on Sunday afternoon.
While fire conditions were relatively benign on Sunday, a running vehicle parked in scrub, as the mobile speed camera was, could easily have sparked a blaze which would have been a major hazard for motorists and a headache for the RFS.
“From now on, right throughout summer, any vehicle in that situation has the potential to start a fire,” Mr Smith said after viewing the photos of the vehicle parked in the long grass.
“We give this message to all motorists – parking in long grass like that is irresponsible and potentially dangerous.”
While stationary, the mobile speed camera is left running while the camera is in operation, meaning the vehicle’s catalytic converter could potentially ignite the dry grass surrounding it.
Following inquiries from The Daily Advertiser yesterday, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) moved to cut the grass in the area where the mobile speed camera was operating on Sunday.
A spokeswoman for RMS claimed “grass at this location which has grown quickly due to recent rain” was partly to blame for the issue, despite Wagga having had no significant rain in more than a month.
But the potential fire hazard isn’t the only issue with the mobile speed camera’s operations in this location on Sunday.
Its positioning also indicates blatant entrapment – which Roads Minister Duncan Gay swore to stamp out last time the furore surrounding the mobile speed camera surfaced.
Mr Gay yesterday expressed his disappointment at the mobile speed camera being operated in a position where it was clearly obscured to motorists.
“This operator is partly obscured by the grass and that’s not the philosophy we operate under,” he said.
“I expect operators to act within the guidelines at all times.”
The RMS spokeswoman added: “NSW does not have unmarked or covert speed cameras.”
