NSW motorists targeted as mobile speed camera program reaches capacity

Speeding motorists are now being targeted in more than 2,000 locations, many in Sydney’s west and south west, as the state government’s mobile speed camera program reached its full capacity last month.

Private contractors Redflex and Jenoptic , who won the rights to operate the mobile units last year, are now employing hundreds of staff to operate more than 40 vans for the targeted 7,000 hours a month specified in their contracts.

While the vans can pop up anywhere, the RMS’s own road safety expert said alert motorists involved in low range speeding can potentially escape a fine by watching out for warning signs 250 metres ahead of the camera.

RMS Safety and Compliance Director Peter Wells said there was a “clear policy in NSW to give fair warning to mobile speed cameras”.

“There is no excuse to be speeding past these cameras if you are paying attention,’’ Mr Wells said.

9NEWS was given exclusive access to a mobile speed camera van in operation at Avoca Rd, Randwick on Thursday, August 7 as it snapped dozens of passing motorists.

The van, based on a Ford Falcon, has camera equipment in the rear of the vehicle shooting at oncoming traffic, although there is a front-positioned camera as well just to catch motorbikes which have only rear mounted number plates.

The van’s speed camera equipment has infared capability for night time use and can “read” numberplates.

The top locations for speeding infringements generated by the vans in June shows the kinds of places where the vans are being deployed, and most are in Sydney’s west and south west.

Carlingford Road, Carlingford topped the list issuing 225 speeding infringements worth $46,432.

Other locations where they were catching the most motorists including Old Canterbury Rd, Summer Hill; Moorefields Road, Kingsgrove; Lake Road, Port Macquarie; Moorefields Road, Roselands; and, Copeland Street, Liverpool.

In June, the most recent month available, the cameras issued 4,732 fines.

Mr Wells said the cameras were highly accurate, but, “if there is any doubt whatsoever we give the doubt to the motorist”.

Roads Minister Duncan Gay said drivers do not need to feel ambushed by the cameras.

We don’t want to take people’s money – we want to save their lives,” Mr Gay said.

He said all revenue from the fines was “100 per cent hypothecated for road safety purposes”. These measures funded by the speeding fine revenue include flashing lights in school zones and driver safety training programs for young people.

See how your suburb fared in the table below, which shows the number of fines handed out and the amount of revenue raised in June this year.