Mobile speed camera sign removal

In November last year the NSW Liberal-National Government announced it would remove the warning signs from mobile speed cameras and triple their hours of operation to support the ‘Towards Zero’ initiative.

The announcement came in the same week that their Budget stated that revenue from fines is forecast to be $651.1 million in 2020-21 and $3.2 billion over the four years to 2023-24.

When I first started talking about this change a number of people contacted me stating that this move wasn’t about safety but about raising revenue.

Well the figures are now in. This year to date $14.88 million in mobile speed camera fines have issued to drivers.

In February, more money was raised from mobile speed cameras in one month than the entire 2019-20 financial year.

In March this year more than nine times as many fines were issued compared to March last year.

The Government justified the move by saying it was to “reduce the number of road fatalities” well to date this year 93 people have tragically lost their lives, compared to 94 in the same period last year.

Any death, is tragic. And we should do all we can to prevent fatalities, but the numbers speak for themselves on this rule change.

So many roads in Barwon need attention. Some are State roads, some are local roads. There is much more that could be done improving roads to save lives. Let’s see roads made safer as a priority instead of hidden cameras that won’t change behaviour.