Wagga drivers have continued to rack up speeding fines at a significantly higher rate than before the policy to remove mobile camera signs.
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During February, Edward Street eastbound lanes recorded 1750 per cent more fines for exceeding the limit by 10 kilometres per hour or under, compared to February 2020, with infringements rising from two to 37.
Speeders travelling eastbound on Edward Street at up to 10km/h above the speed limit were fined a total of $5043, while Docker Street's northbound lanes recorded the most fines of any Wagga location with 47 people paying a total of $7749.
Docker Street saw a 942 per cent increase in fines during December, but the difference before and after hidden cameras was smaller in February with an increase of 530 per cent.
Wagga-based Nationals MLC Wes Fang said the fines data showed his concerns about removing warning signs were valid as larger numbers of people continued to be fined for minor speeding offences.
'Each fine is potentially someone losing their licence, losing their job and losing their livelihood," he said.
"We need to ensure we deliver the road safety message and promote safe driving, but numbers such as those released erode the confidence in the public's perception the changes are about road safety.
"You'd absolutely be forgiven for cynically viewing it as a revenue raising tactic."
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Revenue NSW fines data did not include how long each mobile speed camera as deployed each month.
Able Driving School's Glen Gaudron said the new policy of hidden speed cameras could lead drivers to lose focus on the road.
"In Wagga, there are so many changes to speed from 50 to 40 to 60 to 40 kilometres per hour, it's all over the place, and drivers are that busy looking at the damn speedo these days it's going to cause more accidents," he said.
Transport for NSW safety, environment and regulation director Tara McCarthy said removing warning signs was designed to make the roads safer at all times and not just when a driver or rider spots a camera.
"The increased number of people caught doing the wrong thing supports what we have been saying - speeding is the leading cause of death and trauma on NSW roads," she said.
"Over the longer term we expect to see numbers decrease once the full changes to the speed camera program are implemented and as motorists begin to get the message that they can, and will, be caught if they break the law."
Ms McCarthy said the ability to avoid fines was "totally in the control of the driver" and all fines were "reinvested through the Community Road Safety Fund, with a focus on safety upgrades such as rumble strips and safety barriers".
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