Mobile speed camera warning signs to return in NSW

Signs to warn drivers about mobile speed cameras will be brought back in New South Wales after a major state government backflip.

Warning signs will be placed back in front of mobile speed cameras following public backlash just two years after they were controversially removed under a scheme that triggered a near 10-fold increase in fines.

Top-mounted signs were reintroduced a year ago in a partial backdown, but the number of penalties being issued is still much higher than before.

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From January 1, drivers will see familiar warning signs before they pass a mobile speed camera.

Minister for Metropolitan Roads Natalie Ward said the government made the decision after listening to criticism from the community.

"These additional warning signs will help educate drivers in real-time, giving them advanced warning to slow down at these high-risk points of our road network."

This comes after state opposition leader Chris Minns said all warning signs should be returned.

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"The best thing they can do is to put these signs back in front of the speed cameras so we know to slow down and not commit the offence in the first place," the Labor leader said on the weekend.

There were 38,743 fines issued when warning signs were posted ahead of mobile speed camera vehicles in 2020.

That soared by nearly 10 times to 361,896 in 2021 when warnings were taken away altogether.

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So far this year, offences have dropped to just under 200,000 with the return of the top-mounted signs.

But numbers are still five times higher than 2020.

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