NSW looking to remove speed camera warning signs
The NSW government is considering scrapping speed camera warning signs across the state in a move it claimed could save 54 lives a year.
Transport and Roads Minister Andrew Constance said road fatalities had increased and the government was looking at strategies to reduce preventable deaths.
According to Transport for NSW, there have been 312 lives lost on the road so far this year, up by 14 compared to this time last year. The figures are on track to overtake the 2018 record of 347 deaths.
“Expert advice says we could save 54 lives a year by removing speed camera warning signs,” Constance said in a statement.
“We’ve seen speed cameras reduce fatality rates by 80 per cent at intersections around this state.
“Everyone needs to know, if you adhere to the law, you don’t pay a fine. If you pay a fine, the money’s going into the road safety fund to try and teach you to do the right thing in the first place.”
A report released by the state’s Auditor-General last year said warning signs for speed cameras “limit the effectiveness of the program”, and their removal could help create “a perception that speeding can be enforced anywhere at any time”.
The NRMA has spoken against the possible move, with spokesman Peter Khoury saying the signs are important to lower road toll.
“The signs are important, they play an important educational role on our roads and the cameras then do the enforcement,” Khoury told news.com.au.
“These cameras intentionally go into some of the most dangerous locations on the roads where people have been killed or injured. What we want is people to slow down – there’s no point telling them two weeks later with a fine in the mail.”
Reports released last month found that Sydney drivers have paid $104 million in speed camera fines in the last 12 months.
However, Khoury said he did not want to focus on the revenue-raising potential of the proposal, which could see the speed camera revenue rise by $200 million a year.
“We don’t want it to be a discussion about revenue, we want it to be about what we can do to reduce this horrific road toll,” Khoury said.