Written by Andrew Brown

A record number of drivers were booked for speeding offences by mobile speed cameras in Canberra during 2017, new figures show.

In the past calendar year there were 21,679 offences detected generating more than $6.5 million in fines.

The number of offences captured by the cameras has tripled over the past five years, with just more than 7000 offences recorded.

In the same time period, revenue raised through speeding fines has increased nearly 500 per cent, rising from $1.34 million in fines during 2012.

An ACT government spokeswoman said there were 370 different locations across Canberra for mobile speed cameras during 2017. Public consultation had helped determine where the cameras would go.

According to Access Canberra figures speed cameras on the Majura Parkway were the most profitable in 2017.

There were 1584 offences recorded from speed cameras on the road, netting $498,000 in fines.

The Cotter Road road works was the next highest in terms of offences, with 837 speeding fines raising $238,000.

Athllon Drive was third on the list of speeding camera hot spots (818 offences), followed by Jerrabomberra Avenue near Narrabundah College (802 offences), and the Monaro Highway (763 offences).

Other locations with high levels of speeding fines issued include Fairbairn Avenue (678 offences), Northbourne Avenue (645 offences), Gungahlin Drive (585 offences), Mugga Way near Canberra Boys Grammar School (566 offences) and Sutton Road (539 offences).

The top 10 locations raised $2.36 million in fines, more than a third of all revenue collected across the capital.

Offences for speeding fines range from $279 and one demerit point to $2136 and six demerit points.

The government spokeswoman said mobile speed cameras had been part of the strategy to help reduce the road toll in the ACT.

“The ACT’s road safety camera program supports police enforcement and has been widely adopted as a means of encouraging drivers to comply with speed limits,” the spokeswoman said.

“The program is supported by a large body of evidence which shows that cameras – both speed and red-light cameras – are an effective road safety measure.”

The new figures come after mobile speed cameras fined almost 200 people in Canberra school zones on the first day of the school year.

While there were almost 400 sites for mobile speed cameras in Canberra last year, the number of potential sites will increase.

Since the start of the ‘nominate a mobile speed camera’ website in September 2016, 856 submissions have been received, many involving school zones.

“Through this initiative, an extra 201 locations were added to the mobile speed camera program, bringing the total number of sites that can be monitored to 1162,” the government spokeswoman said.

9 March 2018

© 2018 The Sydney Morning Times

https://www.smh.com.au/national/act/canberra-mobile-speed-cameras-catch-record-number-of-drivers-20180307-h0x5zz.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Have a comment? Leave a reply