There it was, at the bottom of the hill in Lake Albert Road. Yes, the speed camera is back in town, parked only near known death traps, of course. Who believes that rubbish?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In Opposition the current NSW government made a big play for the votes of very annoyed drivers who had been issued with tickets for trivial breaches. Opposition shadow roads minister Duncan Gay was righteous about Labor’s revenue raising.
Once in office, as newly elected Roads Minister, Duncan Gay enjoyed a few “good news” moments, turning off a few fixed cameras, adjusting a few speed limits that were incongruous, such as the short 50kmh stretch from the start of Plumpton Road to the Red Hill Road roundabout. This was all good and the media cheered.
The RTA was renamed “Roads and Maritime Services”. That seemed like a good move, too, because the top public servants in the old RTA appeared to be determined to not react to the Minister’s directives, on issues such as restoring the 110km/h speed limit on the Newell Highway.
Cars on the Newell could now pass trucks safely without breaking the law. We personally saw this as a welcome move, because the old limit had added an hour to our journey to the Queensland border, and as everyone knows, fatigue kills.
Then for some reason best known to Roads Minister Duncan Gay, he appeared on the television news looking quite sheepish, announcing that the number of mobile speed cameras would be increased.
Annual revenue from speed and red light cameras in NSW increased from $78 million in 2010-2011 before Barry O’Farrell’s Liberal-National government took office, to a projected $150 million in 2014-15. That’s breaking an election promise in a very big way!
News reports indicate that another 200 cameras will be in operation by 2015. This is beyond a joke.
We have seen the danger zones that need a camera - places like the 50km/h zone in wide Kincaid Street, which for the most part has fenced sporting grounds on one side.
There’s the inappropriately zoned 50km/h Tarcutta Street, where the camera was located at school zone time on the first day of school this term. So much for saving lives.
A “No Speed Camera” micro party has been formed in some states to contest state Upper House seats. Their research shows that “not even two per cent of road deaths are caused through travel above set speed limits.”
Senator Ricky Muir was elected to represent motorists, but quickly became a Palmer puppet, so electing an independent is not the way to go.
A camera fine for coasting down the hill with the traffic in Lake Albert Road, just a few kilometres above the limit, will cost you $109. Call it a donation to a cash-strapped NSW Government.
