A NEW mobile speed camera has been sent to Wagga - and to the unaware it looks suspiciously like a tradies ute parked on the side of the road.
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The Ford utility was parked in Bourke Street outside the Wagga showground yesterday morning.
The all-important speed detection and camera equipment was in tray of the ute, covered and protected by a white canopy.
Ford Territories have been used exclusively for mobile speed cameras in Wagga up until now.
"Eight new Ford Falcon utility enforcement vehicles were deployed to regions across NSW this week as part of the program expansion," Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) said in a statement yesterday when asked about the ute.
And it is likely other types of vehicles will crop up as mobile speed cameras in the future.
"Speed enforcement vehicles include wagons, utilities and other vehicles which are appropriately signed to ensure visibility to motorists," the statement said.
The operator of mobile speed cameras in Wagga has been regularly criticised for parking cars in long grass and for failing to adhere to warning sign regulations as set out by the state government, but yesterday morning the signs appeared to be in order.
The government last month said it would ramp up the mobile speed camera presence in Wagga before Christmas as part of a $58 million program that included 45 more vehicles operating for 7000 hours at 2500 locations across the state.
The south-west region that includes Wagga was expected to go up from 160 hours a month to 600 hours.
While statistics on people caught for speeding in and around Wagga over the Christmas break were not available yesterday, police were pleased there had been no serious crashes and drink-driving was down.
Wagga police duty officer, Inspector Peter Robertson, said that up until yesterday afternoon police had conducted about 3000 breath tests, resulting in just three or four positive readings.
"That is quite low compared to other years, so that is a good result," Inspector Robertson said.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old Yass woman stopped for a random breath test on the Hume Highway at Bookham on Thursday was found to be disqualified driver until 2022.
And at Griffith, a 41-year-old man stopped for a breath test in Walla Avenue was found to be disqualified from driving until 2012.
Yesterday afternoon, one woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and two other people were badly shaken after an accident on the Hume Highway outside the Dog on the Tuckerbox near Gundagai.
Police said the crash happened just after 2pm when one vehicle pulled out of the service station and turned to head south when it was hit by a car travelling north.
Anyone caught speeding over the Christmas-New Year period will be hit with double demerit points.
