Covert Speed Cameras in Australia

Drivers in New South Wales and Queensland will have no way of dodging the bullet from July, when authorities will begin using covert mobile digital speed cameras and number-plate recognition technologies to catch those going above the limit.

The news, bad as it is for drivers, is only the beginning of a nationwide effort to increase and enhance camera presence across Australia. The New South Wales government approved their use together with a AU$170 million fund to be spent on highway safety audits, road repairs, education and heavy-vehicle safety.

Initially, there will be six mobile speed cameras, with the total number to reach 40 within a year. They will be marked, authorities say, and a roadside sign notifying drivers of its presence will be placed after the camera vehicle. In the first month of operation, drivers braking the law will only receive a warning letter. After that, fines, fines, fines...

“A report prepared by Monash University Accident Research Centre has found mobile speed cameras have reduced the number of crashes in Victoria and Queensland by at least 25 per cent,” a spokesperson for the state's transport minister told the source.

“This report showed that at the fixed camera sites the number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit was reduced by 71 per cent which had resulted in fatal crashes being reduced by 90 per cent and casualty crashes being reduced by 23 per cent near cameras.”