Comments on: Hidden Speed Cameras: Safety vs Revenue. https://www.privatefleet.com.au/blog/driving/hidden-speed-cameras-safety-vs-revenue/ News and views about cars in Australia Fri, 19 Jun 2020 15:33:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.5 By: Peter East https://www.privatefleet.com.au/blog/driving/hidden-speed-cameras-safety-vs-revenue/#comment-4513 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 04:31:26 +0000 http://blog.privatefleet.com.au/?p=3127#comment-4513 My problem is the reliability/accuracy of speed cameras. Twice I have entered a zone knowing there was a camera (1. My GPS chimed – warning me of one ahead and (2 a public minded motorist flashed me.
On both occasions I was travelling at below the speed limit, but received infringement notices in the mail.
Unfortunately, without proof, it is not worthwhile attending court to challenge them.
There are devices such as dash mounted video cameras that record on an SD card the time, location and speed, and these can be replayed. Anybody doing extensive driving should buy one.
I know that challenging accuracy of speed cameras is a bit like challenging the Christian dogma of the virgin birth, but on investigation I find that radar operates at a wavelength of about 10 mm. Compare this to visible light (about 0.0005 mm)
10 mm wavelength EM radiation experiences significant diffraction. The beam, from my experience with using this wavelength diverges about 15 degrees.
What this means is that the target may not be your vehicle, even though it is directed at you.
It is also possible to photoshop those images they send you to remove other vehicles. This would allow authorities to multiply the revenue from speed cameras – which is their prime purpose.

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By: maparec https://www.privatefleet.com.au/blog/driving/hidden-speed-cameras-safety-vs-revenue/#comment-4512 Mon, 28 Oct 2013 12:21:48 +0000 http://blog.privatefleet.com.au/?p=3127#comment-4512 around 75% of road fatalities in qld [ and i suspect other states ] occur in rural areas or on the urban highways. if you remove the stats relating to motorcyclists, hoons and pedestrians [ which seem to be unstoppable ] from the urban figures there is just not that many people dying on the roads where the majority of enforcement happens . every death is a tragedy and we must have a police presence but for the blue line to justify most of their revenue from an area which has such a small impact on the road toll proves it is revenue raising. if they really cared about peoples lives they would change the way the law is enforced and come up with a better system for rural areas, as the road conditions are obviously playing a large part in the yearly slaughter.

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By: Oliver https://www.privatefleet.com.au/blog/driving/hidden-speed-cameras-safety-vs-revenue/#comment-4505 Mon, 28 Oct 2013 01:39:37 +0000 http://blog.privatefleet.com.au/?p=3127#comment-4505 Most of my Point’s are coverd above. Many Years ago they did the same thing in Germany , The People Voted and the cameras were shiped to good old AUS.
It is also a Fact there were more accidents on the Autobahns between West and East back than. Research found the reasons was, after doing 130-180+ kmh , drivers fell asleep traveling at a low 100kmh. I have traveled at high speed over there and realised that i was much more allert than driving slow over long distance.
They always claim a road toll figure, that is going down and our population ( and road user’s ) is going up big time. they should be patting us on the back. on eastlink (a very high quality Freeway) 100’s of fines are issued for over 100kmh, on the old and bumpy Calder freeway you can do 110kmh ??
An earlier comment is correct, i bummped into the back of someone on wet tram tracks as as they all stopped on a camera. Put them were they should be.

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By: Russell Smith https://www.privatefleet.com.au/blog/driving/hidden-speed-cameras-safety-vs-revenue/#comment-4500 Sun, 27 Oct 2013 02:51:13 +0000 http://blog.privatefleet.com.au/?p=3127#comment-4500 My two bob’s worth – pretty well everyone’s view is as valid as everyone else’s – and though we may not all agree on the detail, there is a great disparity between the “speed kills” propaganda and the “revenue raising” truth. Those propagandists and regulators do the community a gross disservice by perpetuating and expanding the “speed camera” epidemic. No such inanimate object “speed camera” whether mounted on a pole in clear sight or hidden in the bushes or in a vehicle can prevent a crash, or by any pseudo-scientific analysis (I have yet to see any scientific eveidence) even be acknowledged as lessening their incidence. Crashes are such multifactorial events that it defies all logic to claim otherwise – and to dishonestly ignore the direct revenue-raising result is an insult to all road users.
As a driver of almost 50-years, I have been caught “speeding” 4 times, and on each occasion quite inadvertently just a few mph’s or kmh’s over the limit – whilst concentrating on DRIVING the car safely. I have had 3 prangs – all very low speed incidents with minimal damage and no injuries (other than extreme embarassment) – yet more damage in cost and severity has been done to my vehicles by random vandalism – plus two break-ins and three vehicle thefts – so clearly crime doesn’t take any holidays and various police forces have proven to be unable to keep up with it. “Clean-up” rates have been poor in my case, so I suppose its easy for police to endorse the soft options such as “speed cameras”.
As a health professional I see the results of road trauma on a frequent basis, and separately I have seen severely injured people, including my own son who ran into a slow moving car on his bike – no “speed camera” could have affected the incident or the outcome – he’s ok and now he’s a driver trainer. And yes, like a lot of Bruce hwy users, the artificial speed limits +/- Gympie merely add to journey time and fatigue, adding in the “roadwork” limits – when the road may have actually been improved, but when there’s no actual “work” taking place gives rise to cars and trucks doing 100 in 40 zones, or tailgating those who observe the posted limits.
As a pilot I was subject to stringent competency and medical criteria – which are not applied to learner and other drivers, other than sometimes due to ageing issues – but perhaps should be on a regular licence-renewal basis. (Nor do we let learner drivers go solo after 10 hours of experience/tuition as in aviation but thats another issue!) The aviation regulators require ongoing competency checks and recency of experience but the road regulators do not – and focus on “speed” vs safety.
As a driving instructor (yes, many talents) and majority owner of a business with several cars and 4 other trainers, I and we try really hard to project a safety culture, but the bar to getting a drivers licence is set very low and even with a log-book system we suspect that some abuse the hour-requirements before booking their tests. Learners sometimes only want to find out how to pass a test – not how to drive safely – we try very hard to impose and improve standards of tuition and driver performance but young drivers are restricted but not re-assessed – maybe they should be, and maybe we all should be – the resources exist in aviation, industries and professions – so why not for drivers.
In conclusion, we have been lied to and insulted by the authorities, the regulators, over “speed” and “speed cameras” and its about time they told the truth about revenue raising without any positive scientific evidence upon safety issues. Maybe a little more than two bob’s worth!
PS – conflicts of interest – fast cars – Monaro afficionado – have had 5 over the years and soon about to sell the last one – so the driving school can expand!

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