State's camera fines top in nation
From The West Australian
April 07 , 2008
WA motorists get the highest number of speed-camera infringements in the nation while the rate of road fatalities is second only to the Northern Territory, according to new figure that raise new questions about the effectiveness of cameras as a speed deterrent.
The analysis by The West Australian found 494,934 Multanova-generated infringements were issued to WA’s 1.42 million drivers last financial year – the equivalent of 350 for every 1000 drivers.
The next highest in fines per motorist was the Northern Territory, with 27,113 fines issued to 127,602 licensed drives at a rate of 210 fines per 1000.
Tasmania has a rate of 190 fines per 1000 motorists; Victoria has 170 and in Queensland an average of 80 fines were issued for every 1000 drivers.
NSW’s 145 speed cameras are all fixed units. They generate 90 fines per 1000 motorists last year.
In WA, the $17 million in Multanova infringement revenue equated to just under $12 per motorist.
Opposition road safety spokesman John McGrath said the figures showed WA had a fixation with Multanovas. He believed the State should take the NSW lead and look at installing more fixed cameras in known black spots. “I’m disappointed that we stand out in that statistic because it either means that our drivers are the most irresponsible in Australia or we have a greater fixation on Multanovas than other States,” he said.
WA’s road toll for 2007 was fourth nationally at 236 deaths behind Victoria (332), Queensland (360) and NSW (445). In deaths per 10,000 drivers it was second with 1.66 behind the NT.
An Office of Road Safety committee is reviewing the effectiveness of Multanova and fixed speed cameras among various speed enforcement strategies.
An RAC spokesman said the motoring group had called for the State’s speed camera program to be evaluated more than two years ago, arguing it had been 10 years since the last comprehensive review.
“If WA’s rate of offending is so high, it calls into question just how effective the current speed-camera program is in reducing speeds on our road,” he said. “We support the use of speed cameras but they should be positioned at black-spot locations where there is a history of speed related crashes.”
Police Minister John Kobelke backed the use of speed cameras as a “vital component” of the road safety strategy and said he was waiting for the committee’s report to determine the future of speed enforcement in WA.
“Credible international and national research has shown that speed cameras are a highly effective tool in slowing motorists down and reducing crashes,” he said. “The use of speed cameras as a speed deterrent is just one part of a much bigger mix.”
