In a call that some would describe as stating the bleeding obvious, Victoria’s State Opposition Roads Spokesperson Terry Mulder has claimed that the Victorian Government is using its mobile speed camera network as little more than a revenue-raising program.

Referring to figures obtained through the Freedom Of Information Act, Mr Mulder said that around 150,225 motorists had been caught speeding by mobile cameras in the first three months of this year, compared to 138,191 for the same period last year.

The figures also showed that fines issued by officers on the road had dropped eight percent compared to the first quarter of 2009, and fines from fixed speed cameras had dropped by three percent.

Mr Mulder singled out the South-West, where mobile speed camera fines increased from 2990 in the first quarter of 2009, to 3699 in the same period this year.

“Everyone knows that the number of police officers in the south-west is below satisfactory levels so there has been less on-the-spot fines issued and more of this underhanded form of speed monitoring,” Mr Mulder told News Ltd.

Mr Mulder said that the Victorian Government has likely put pressure on mobile speed camera operators to make up the difference, particularly with the end of the financial year in sight.
Figures Obtained by the Victorian State Opposition have revealed that revenue from speeding fines has risen dramatically over past year, with most fines being issued in Melbourne’s suburbs.

Around 312,500 fines were issued betwen April and June this year, a 21 percent increase over the same period in 2008. Most of the speeders were caught in the  Boroondara, Monash and Whitehorse council areas.

Detections from fixed speed cameras over the same period jumped by 45 percent.

The inner suburbs of Fitzroy, Prahran and Richmond have also become speed camera hotspots, while the Stonnington and Yarra council areas have seen a 221 percent surge in speeding fines.

With the infringements issued between April and June worth $36 million to the State Government and total speeding fine revenue expected to top $437 million this year (up from last year’s $397 million), the Opposition says the latest figures prove speed cameras are being used for revenue raising.

However, Acting Superintendent Steve Frost from Victoria Police’s Traffic Camera Office said the use of speed cameras was a viable deterrent against speeding.

“Speed enforcement initiatives are underpinned by strong evidence and are primarily directed at reducing road trauma, rather than raising revenue,” Supt Frost said.

“Speed is one of our biggest killers and can easily be avoided with common sense and care.

“Speeding fines are a voluntary contribution, if you abide by the speed limit you have nothing to worry about.”

New speed camera figures show an 80-per-cent increase in fines issued in some parts of Victoria.

The figures obtained by the Opposition show motorists were booked more than 155,000 times in the last three months of 2009.

The Opposition’s roads spokesman, Terry Mulder, says the figures were forecast in last year’s state budget.

He says they show blatant revenue raising tactics, and the Premier, John Brumby, must explain.

“John Brumby’s budget in 08, 09, shows $397 million in speeding fines, then they predict in 09, 010, for it to jump to $437 million,” he said.

“Some parts of the state, Mornington Peninsula, Frankston, have jumped up by over 80 per cent.”

The Victorian Government reaped more than $700,000 from speeding Ballarat region motorists in the first three months of this financial year, new figures reveal.

Department of Justice statistics show a 92 per cent jump in the number of fines issued by mobile speed cameras in police region 2, division 3, between July and September this year compared with the same three-month period last year.

At the beginning of the 2008/9 financial year, 2515 fines were issued in region 2, division 3, compared with 4833 this year.

The rise equates to an extra $338,000 in fine revenue.

The region comprises the municipalities of Ballarat, Hepburn, Moorabool, Golden Plains, Central Goldfields and Pyrenees.

Victorian Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder, who obtained the figures under freedom of information laws, said the rise in the Ballarat region was the highest of any police division in the state.

“Local motorists suffered more than 12 times the average Victorian rise in speed camera fines for the September 2009 quarter,” he said.

“Shepparton rose 55 per cent, Ararat, Stawell and Horsham almost 24 per cent, Geelong was up 13.5 per cent while Wangaratta and Wodonga increased more than 11 per cent.

“Overall across Victoria, mobile speed camera fines in the September quarter 2009 rose 7.4 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.”

But Victorian Police and Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron said speed remained the biggest killer on Victorian roads.

“We make no apologies for providing Victoria Police with record resources which is driving down the road toll and saving lives,” he said.

“We would be happy for police to never issue a fine if it meant people weren’t speeding.”

(Bollocks….they’d be crapping themselves how they’d fill the void in revenue)

Victoria Police have defended the rise, saying they could only assume it was because people were not heeding the road safety message.

In a statement, a police spokesman said speed camera operation hours in the Ballarat and Bendigo regions had increased, as announced by the government earlier this year.

He said operational hours were based on needs identified by road trauma and collision data.

In Ballarat, speed camera hours rose 33.17 per cent with 839 hours, compared to 630 hours in 2008.

REDFLEX Traffic Systems has been awarded a further contract to install Redflex red-light and speed systems at a total of 25 intersections around Victoria.

According to Redflex, it will supply install and maintain the camera systems under a contract worth around $4.5m and $7m over the next year, depending on options selected by Victoria’s Department of Justice.

Redflex says the contract is the latest in a series of wins in the State of Victoria, the project is part of the State’s program to upgrade existing wet film red light cameras to digital technology in its efforts to continue to improve safety on the roads.

The Redflex systems are designed to be very flexible and can be installed at difficult and complex intersections with a history of safety issues. Redflex Traffic Systems manufactures and supplies traffic cameras and processing systems to world-wide markets.

The company is a market leader in Australia and has either won or is developing significant opportunities in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. It has contracts with more than 240 US cities, and is the largest provider of digital red light and speed enforcement services in North America.

Melbourne’s council coffers is now raising $1 every second as parking inspectors continue to fine violators every minute all over the city.

On a report published by The Herald Sun – after getting hold of a compilation report of every ticket issued on parking violations with the first half of 2009 on the entire city of Melbourne.  It was discovered that there were about 240,000 tickets issued within that time frame alone.  Given this number, The Herald Sun dug deeper into the hidden truths about parking in Melbourne City.

Careful study made on the city’s parking showed that at the rate that parking tickets are being issued, it is expected that drivers are on the brink of paying over $40 million in fines this year.  This amount is about 80% of the total figures collected over the last 10 years.  Furthermore, this amount excludes the over $20M that they are able to collected from the parking meters and ticketing machines.

Among the streets that are considered to be top grossers when it comes to parking tickets issued are Lonsdale, Queen, Collins, Exhibition and Russell.  Toping the list is Lonsdale where tickets issued raised almost 10% of the city’s fine.

There’s also the problem on parking meter defects which puts drivers in danger of being fined.  The most common cases are coins jamming the machine and timing errors among others.  It was further discovered that there are at least 150 meters posing to be a problem everyday.  Multi-bay machines also suffer problems especially during wet weather thus creating extra tickets for drivers.

It seems that parking inspectors also take advantage of sport events like blockbuster footy matches, Ben Cousins’ return game and the bushfires tribute as these days were one of the most ticketed days in the city.

Additional offenses that rise up to the occasion are assaults and verbal attacks on parking inspectors which has doubled within the past five years as there are some drivers could not restrain themselves from showing their frustration over the high fees and fines being slapped on them.

Was all this the result of what they’ve learned from the lecture that former premier Jeff Kennett gave them last October where he discussed how they could maximize opportunities during challenging times?

On a statement issued by Melbourne City Council parking spokesperson Cr Brian Shanahan, he confirmed that parking fees and fines are a good source of revenue for the city.  He further explained that the more fees and fines they get, the lesser they get to charge ratepayers.  But according to him this is not something that they take pleasure of doing and imposing on people.  It was a necessity that has to be implemented.

To further justify his statement, he explained that these drivers who are being fined for their violations are costing city traders because the latter were getting fewer visits from other customers.  The move was more of trying to create a situation where spaces are turned over quickly.

Shanahan then tried to analyze the situation by saying that about 10% of the traffic at CBD comes from drivers who keeps circling around in an effort to find an on-street space.  This shortage on street space is expected to get a whole lot worst as predictions of drier weather by the council in Melbourne is projected to lower the use of off-street car parks.

This move of the council has brought about a lot of resentments from drivers who felt that the tickets are being issued by parking inspectors who seemed to be watching over meters eager to slap tickets as soon as they hear the machine tick.

Shanahan defended these parking inspectors by saying that there are no quotas set nor bonuses to be paid for additional tickets issued.  It’s all about implementing the rules on parking and allowing others to use the space right after them.

While complaints continue to increase by the thousands, there are still some people who find this strict implementation of policy a good way to teach people.