According to drive.com.au, speed cameras will be removed from school areas in Australia because the Government refused to upgrade them. The decision found a lot of critics already as the speed cameras in school areas were protecting the pupils' safety.
"The schools that don't have fixed cameras must rely on occasional one-off bookings using antiquated radar technology. That means children in 95 per cent of school zones are not safe. There is absolutely no excuse for the Government not to immediately replace the mobile cameras," explained the president of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, Harold Scruby.
Back in 2006, the New South Wales minister for roads at that time, Eric Roozendaal, promised to install 50 fixed and mobile speed cameras across the NSW schools but he failed to accomplish his promise. Because the Government refused to replace the 13-year-old film cameras, the machines were gradually removed from their place.
"We'd got to the point that if we were going to continue mobile speed operations we were going to need more modern equipment . . . capable of providing evidence that we could use in court," Acting Superintendent Evans said. "The parts and film were getting hard to find and the cameras were phased out over a period of time. All of the cameras we have are now deregistered and past their certification date," he added.
Only 70 fixed speed cameras were left in school zones, which cover less than 2 percent of these areas. As a compensation for the lack of speed cameras, Evans explained that the Australian police increased their use of other enforcement methods like radar and speed guns. However, road experts believe these methods are not as effective as speed cameras because they don't take photos.
Despite the critics and the proven effectiveness of the cameras as a speed deterrent, the Minister for Police, Tony Kelly, and the Minister for Roads, Michael Daley, said the Government doesn't intend to purchase new speed cameras.
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