Don't put too much faith in Multanovas
From The West Australian
April 08 , 2008
The WA office of Road Safety must take seriously new evidence questioning the effectiveness of Multanovas on reducing WA’s road toll. Figures obtained by this newspaper show that more drivers are caught by Multanovas in WA than in any other State, yet the number of deaths on WA roads per 10,000 drivers is second only to the Northern Territory.
At best, this suggests a limited correlation between the Multanovas catching speeding drivers and road deaths. At worst, it supports what many have believed, that Multanovas are better at raising revenue than changing driver behaviour.
If one of the most significant causes of road death is excessive speed, then certainly Multanovas are helpful in imposing a financial penalty on those who drive too fast and endanger others. But speed is only one aspect of driver behaviour which contributes to the bleak pattern of road carnage in this State.
In fact, there is research to suggest that two-thirds of road deaths happen at or below the speed limit.
The RAC says that WA’s strategy for both fixed speed cameras and Multanovas has not been reviewed for 10 years. The organisation supports the use of more fixed cameras in known black spots. This certainly would deflect some of the criticism of police for positioning Multanovas on straight roads with no history of major accident.
Regardless of the effect of Multanovas on the road toll, it is clear that WA drivers break road rules with an appalling indifference. Each WA motorist pays $12 a year to WA’s $17 million Multanova infringement revenue. In the end, however, it is what happens on the road which is the most effective test of the success or failure of a particular strategy. WA’s road toll last year was an appalling 236, the fourth highest in the country.
The State is still waiting its next five year road safety strategy, due last December and now expected mid-year. Its late arrival will not matter much if there is clear evidence of a change in thinking about how best to influence driver behaviour.
