Speed camera warning signs RETURN after public outcry – but not before the NSW government fleeced a staggering $21 MILLION in fines from drivers
Warning signs will be attached to every mobile speed camera in NSW from February following a public backlash as speeding fines skyrocketed.
Fixed signage was removed across the state in November 2020. From then until August 2021 the state Government raised $21million in fines.
From February large double-sided blue and white warnings will again appear on the roofs of mobile speed cameras but not on the street before them.
A graph (pictured) was released by NSW opposition leader Chris Minns that shows the sharp increase in revenue collected by speed cameras once signage was removed
‘The focus on safety as well as awareness will ensure the program is still effective in reducing speeding and the significant trauma it causes,’ Transport Minister Rob Stokes said.
‘This was always about saving lives, and we will continue to find ways to reduce the number of lives lost on our roads as we aim towards zero fatalities by 2050.’
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the new signs will be rolled out along with an additional previously announced 1,000 fixed signs.
‘This is about striking the right balance,’ he told reporters on Friday.
‘There is no excuse for those who are speeding… this is a government that has listened to the community.’
Mobile speed camera warning signs are returning to New South Wales from February in a Government backflip following a public backlash as speeding fines skyrocketed
In November, former NSW roads minister Duncan Gay told a parliamentary road safety inquiry the removal of the signs was done in good faith but was the wrong decision.
‘Speed cameras are important but they shouldn’t be there for entrapment,’ he said at the time.
Revenue NSW data shows the number of mobile digital speed camera fines where the speed limit was exceeded by 10kmh or less went from 3,222 in October 2020 to 27,855 by February 2021.
The Government said camera revenue goes directly into the Community Road Safety Fund to improve road safety and provide education, lifesaving infrastructure and enforcement.
Advertisement