Hidden speed camera inquiry needed from NSW Parliament due to 'gouging' fines against Wagga drivers

The Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety has announced an inquiry into mobile speed camera changes made late last year that included removing warning signs.

Revenue NSW mobile camera fine data for April showed Wagga drivers were fined 513 times last month for exceeding the speed limit by 10 kilometres per hour or under, for a total penalty of more than $84,400.

The same month in 2019, with warning signs in place and no coronavirus restrictions to reduce traffic, saw 47 fines for the same level of speeding and $5800 in total penalties.

Wagga road safety advocate Bruce Harper said an "embarrassingly large amount of money was being gouged" from hidden speed cameras but the government had yet to demonstrate any increased road safety.

"They tend to be making that money on roads where a bit of extra speed is not especially dangerous, for example Lake Albert Road south of Kooringal Road, the western end of Red Hill Road, the western end of Kincaid Street," he said.

"All of these streets are high, wide and handsome."

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Committee chairman and Liberal MLC Lou Amato said the inquiry wanted to know "what the community thinks about these changes in terms of how they promote and improve road safety" and how the fine revenue was being spent on road safety.

April's most-fined road was Tarcutta Street southbound with 125 fines, followed by Lake Albert Road eastbound with 90 and Kincaid Street westbound with 85.

Roadcraft Driving Services instructor Paul Dawson said he welcomed the inquiry because hidden cameras were not an effective deterrent, unlike police or warning signs.

"If you're doing 70 in a 60 zone, that's not good and you shouldn't be speeding," he said.

"Lower-end speeding has no instant prosecution, so the driver is still continuing to offend and that's my biggest concern."

Wagga-based Nationals MLC and past critic of hidden speed cameras, Wes Fang, said people who had never previously received a speeding fine now had their livelihoods threatened.

"The mother and daughter in one family I know never had a fine before and then both received one the same month," he said.

"I don't think we are any safer, I think we are just getting a lot more money but my biggest concern is people's loss of licence points."

Labor shadow roads spokesman John Graham accused the government of "fine mania" that put Wagga in the top five electorates for fine revenue with $633,000 in penalties over nine months.

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