POLICE Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan’s son was one of five people who suffered serious burns in an alleged drug lab explosion in Carlisle yesterday.

Mr O’Callaghan said his son Russell, 29, received head, shoulder and arm injuries in the explosion.

He said he had not yet visited his son in Royal Perth Hospital. He said he would be working as normal and would not be taking time off over the incident.

Mr O’Callaghan said he had attempted to contact his son yesterday.

“I am not at this stage able to speak to him (Russell),” Mr O’Callaghan told a packed media conference this morning.

“These matters are obviously very distressing for the families involved but I have a duty to come here and talk about this issue publically this morning.

“At this stage there is an inquiry being conducted into the matter and that inquiry is being overseen by a senior police officer to avoid any suggestion that the inquiry will not be attended to properly.

“I have not asked for the details of the inquiry…and I will remain at some distance from the (inquiry) process.” Mr O’Callaghan said he had only “occasional” contact with his son.

“His life has taken a bit of a tragic path unfortunately…I understand from speaking to other family members last night that he has recently been suffering from a depressive illness and he was due to seek assistance from a doctor this week for that illness,” he said. Mr O’Callaghan said he does not know why his son was at the house at the time of the explosion as he does not live at the property.

Police said the explosion happened just after 5pm in Bishopsgate Street. It was allegedly caused by an illegal drug lab. Police Inspector Trevor Davis said five adults were taken to hospital with serious burns. “One man is in a critical condition, while one woman and three other men are in stable conditions,” he said.

“Although initial reports indicated that children were injured, this was not the case. A three-year-old and a four-year-old were near the explosion but were not hurt.” Police said this morning that a 26-year-old man injured in the explosion was in a critical condition. A 26-year-old woman, a 29-year-old man and two 28-year-old men were all in a stable condition in hospital.

A FESA spokesman said the explosion caused about $300,000 damage to the home.

THE Barnett government expects to reap an extra $120 million a year in speeding fines by doubling the number of police cameras on West Australian roads, and by becoming the first state to use digital hand-held cameras that detect speeding from a distance of 1.2km.

Western Australia will also soon join other states in outlawing the use of radar detectors, Police Minister Rob Johnson said yesterday.

Police have welcomed the 14 new hand-held digital cameras, called TruCams, because they allow officers to catch dozens of speeders within a short space of time. There is no need to stop each driver and issue a fine as infringement notices can be issued automatically when video and stills of each speeding vehicle are downloaded at the end of the police officer’s shift.

As with mobile cameras fixed to vehicles, the digital cameras will allow police to issue fines automatically, rather than needing to stop offending drivers on the road. This new approach means that individual officers will have the capacity to catch dozens more speeding motorists in the same amount of time.

The hand-held laser cameras, which are being trialled in other states, can track an approaching speeding vehicle from a distance of 1.2km, then take video and photographs of its number plates when it comes into view. Of course what they don’t tell you is that at 1.2km the diameter of the laser beam is 3.6m wide – a size easily capable of reflecting off a car or truck next to yours!

LTI has integrated a laser with a digital video camera, making the LTI 20-20 TruCAM™ one of the most sophisticated speed enforcement tools available.

A complete chain of video evidence is collected, along with a high resolution image that identifies vehicle make and model, license plate number and facial characteristics of the driver.

The TruCAM is more than a speed enforcement laser and video camera; the data it produces can feed into any Geographic Information System (GIS) framework. By utilizing GPS, it automatically generates location-based information every time the TruCAM is used. This provides managers with historical data to determine why, where, when and how to deploy valuable human and capital assets in the future.

LTI has patented technology that measures the time and distance between vehicles. TheTruCAM is able to acquire these critical measurements and back it up with video and photographic evidence. The TruCAM is capable of enforcing multiple speeds and even hard to get motorcycles.

Mr Johnson said he expected the new cameras would contribute to additional revenue from fines of about $120 million in their first year, but this was likely to drop as driver behaviour altered.

Last year, more than 430,000 were detected speeding in Western Australia. More than 7500 of those were found to have been speeding at 30km or more above the speed limit.

Mr Johnson has previously spoken publicly about a car accident that left his eldest daughter, Susan, disabled 11 years ago, saying it motivated him to punish hoons.

Yesterday, he said the 30 additional hand-held and fixed cameras cost $30 million, and he predicted a proliferation of fines would change the way West Australians drove as bad drivers became “fed up” with infringements.

“People need to take responsibility for their actions and realise that when they choose to drive above the speed limit, they are not only putting their own lives at risk, but also the lives of other, innocent road users,” he said.

“We have seen all too often this year the devastating consequences speed can have on our roads. I don’t want to see any more lives tragically cut short, nor do I want any families to suffer the heartache of having a loved one seriously injured in a vehicle accident caused by speed.”

A German court last month overturned a traffic citation after prosecutors failed to prove the accuracy of a new laser-based speed camera technology. The district court of Dillenburg heard testimony from four experts, each of whom cast doubt on the system. The Judge Matthias Gampe concluded that the motorist accused by a Poliscan automated ticketing machine of driving 96km/h (60 MPH) in a 40 (25 MPH) zone was not guilty.

Manufactured by Vitronic in Germany, the Poliscan system is mounted in tall roadside poles or in a more compact mobile version. It uses lidar to estimate a vehicle’s speed across multiple lanes over a distance of 130 feet. Vitronic boasts that the ability to simultaneously track multiple, individual cars on a multilane highway gives its product a competitive advantage over conventional products that use radar or in-pavement sensors to estimate speed.

Several of the devices were installed in Mannheim in 2007. After receiving complaints about erroneous readings, the city temporarily put a hold on 19,000 citations while an outside firm created a report that confirmed the cameras were accurate. Expert witnesses testified that changing lanes or having a vehicle cross between your car and the camera could confuse the system and cause misidentification. As the court found, there is no external means of verifying that the speed estimate generated is accurate because the system does not photograph vehicles at set distances like conventional systems.

Vitronic counters the criticism by admitting the theoretical accuracy problem is irrelevant when compared to the hundreds of thousands of tickets that have been “confirmed with approvals of competent state authorities.” Nestor Traffic Systems had exclusive rights to distribute the Poliscan system in the US before going bankrupt. American Traffic Solutions acquired Nestor earlier this year.

The court case number is 3 OWi 2 Js 54432/09.

You know that’s just typical of these Fat Cats. “Well we’re making thousands of tickets – SO WHAT if a few of them are incorrect”

An article on the West Australioan states that “The time-honoured practice of spotting a speed camera by the roadside and hitting the brakes will become pointless when the Government rolls out new cameras which photograph speeders from 100m.”

This is BS – and yet again, is simply fear mongering / scare tactics put out. The technical stats from the manufacture show a MAXIMUM range of 75m – however from experience, we can accurately reveal that the typical detection range is 15 – 40m. The story continues as follows:

Police say by the time lead-footed motorists see one of 14 new Vitronic dual-lens digital cameras, which photograph the front and rear of vehicles, the state-of-the-art devices will have already caught them.

The use of the cameras, which was revealed by The West Australian in February, was launched officially yesterday on Woodrow Avenue, Dianella, where 5000 motorists were caught speeding last year. [I wonder how many accidents occured from these 5000 speeding motorists?] Isn’t the governemnt’s site selection policy meant to be based on fatalities?

The laser-based cameras, which capture digital images from a distance, [of 15 - 75m] are a significant step up from the film-equipped Multanovas, which required vehicles to cross a beam to be caught.

Police Minister Rob Johnson said 430,000 people were caught speeding in WA last year. and WA had 194 fatalities, which represents 0.045% of the (actually caught speeding) 430,000 drivers.

“Our cameras are the first in Australia which are dual-lens cameras and they will also catch up to four lanes of traffic on a freeway,” he said. Sorry Rob, but Victoria also have the Poliscans

The devices would finally catch motorcyclists, who for 20 years had avoided detection because they did not have front number plates.

Police have seven of the cameras, with another seven on order and they are expected to be deployed by the end of June.

State Traffic Commander Michelle Fyfe said the cameras, which consist of two units about 20m apart, could also monitor traffic heading in both directions and could capture vehicles overtaking other traffic

“Anything we can do to slow people down has to be a positive,” she said. Personally we’d like to see more police cars on the streets, that can target dangerous driving, unroad worthy vehicles, etc

THE Sunday Times Road Safety Survey attracted 8000 respondents, of which a sample of 2000 were used to compile the date.

Below is the full summary of the Road Safety Survey Results:

• 36% of respondents have had one of their friends or family members killed in a road crash. This increased to 47% for Country residents.

• 34% of respondents have a friend or family member who has been seriously injured or permanently disabled from a road crash. This increased to 44% for Country residents.

• 95% of respondents drive above the designated speed limit, with 56% doing so at least once a week. Similar result for Perth Metro and Country residents.

• Nearly 20% have sped over the designated speed limit by over 40km/h. This was higher for the Under 18 age group (27%) and 18-24 age group (34%).

• 17% of respondents have not worn a seatbelt while being a driver or passenger in a car. this was higher for men than women.

• 86% agree with the law that it be illegal to use a mobile phone while driving.

• 55% have used their mobile phone without a hands free kit or sent text messages while driving.

• 56% of respondents disagree that road safety decision makes should have their salaries docked or contracts cancelled if the road toll rises above a certain level each year. 32% agree.

• West Australian drivers are not rated very highly with 55% saying they are arrogant, 68% saying they are discourteous and 82% saying they are impatient. Only 6% thought they are friendly, 4% thought they are helpful and 7% thought they were tolerant.

• A mixed response towards multanovas and speed cameras. 42% think that WA does need more to deter people from speeding on our roads, however 53% disagree.

• Nearly 60% think that multanovas and speed cameras are used too often for revenue raising.

• Nearly 60% think that multanovas and speed cameras should not only be installed at crash blackspots.

• 56% think that the location of speed cameras should be kept secret.

• 73% would not support speed limit reductions on WA roads.

• 86% agree that we need more traffic police on our roads.

• Mixed response to large trucks and road trains having a lower speed limit on country roads, 53% say Yes, 42% say No.

• 73% think that speed limits in high pedestrian areas should not be reduced by 10km/h to 30km/h.

• 68% think that drivers should not be penalised if they alert other motorists to speed cameras.

• 57% think that the age of getting a learners’ permit should be raised from 16 to 18.

• 80% think that P-plate drivers should be restricted in the number of passengers they can carry.

• Nearly 60% say that P-platers caught speeding should lose their licence.

• 89% say that P-plate drivers should be restricted from driving high-powered vehicles.

• Mixed response for touring young people through morgues as training. 53% of respondents said Yes, while 41% said No.

• 91% say that road safety and driver education should be a mandatory subject in WA schools.

• 55% think that road safety advertising should be more confronting.

• 67% disagree that the level of hoon behaviour has reduced due to police.

• 67% think that impounding penalties for hoon drivers is not a significant enough deterrent.

• The majority of respondents (49%) think that hoons should have their cars sold, with the money put towards road safety campaigns, rather than having their cars confiscated and crushed (20%). 30% said none of these.

• 70% think that if a drunk-driver kills/seriously injures someone they should be charged with murder/attempted murder.

• 70% support the government moves to immediately suspend drivers’ licences if they blow over 0.08 per cent even before they have a chance to defend themselves in court.

• 68% agree that anyone caught drink-driving should be forced to install alcohol interlocks in their cars before they can get their licence back.

• 75% think that if a driver gets banned for life they should not get their licence ever reinstated by the courts.

• 73% think the allowable blood-alcohol limit for all drivers should not be dropped to 0.0%.

• 38% have driven with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit.

• 34% have driven home after drinking because they found it too difficult to get a taxi/public transport.

• 12% have ever driven after consuming illegal drugs.

• 71% think the speed limit on country roads should not be reduced to 100km/h

• Majority (58%) disagree that roadside barriers should be constructed along all regional roads.

• Mixed views about clearing trees within 5 metres of country roads – 47% said Yes, 46% said No.

• Mixed response about forcing drivers to complete refresher courses – 43% said Yes, 49% said No.

• 80% think that people over the age of 75 should not be forced to turn in their licence.

• Half of respondents think that double demerit campaigns on long weekends are not effective, but only 38% think that they are effective.

• 72% of respondents are not willing to pay tolls on roads if it meant better and safer roads throughout WA.

• 74% think that car manufacturers should be compelled to include safety systems in new cars such as a trip switch that prevents the car from being started if seatbelts are not worn.

• 52% believe State Government should give financial incentives to businesses that buy fleet vehicles with at least a 4 star safety rating or additional safety features.

• 78% think that all major roads should have cycling lanes.

• 72% believe that cyclists in general do not pay enough attention on roads.

• 78% think there should be a limit on the number of cyclists allowed to ride in a pack.

• 87% think that speed limits on suburban roads should not be reduced by 10km/h to 40km/h to protect cyclists.

Add your comments below:

SPEED-CAMERA operations look set to be privatised in WA, prompting fears that profiteering might overtake road-safety priorities.

Police Minister Rob Johnson revealed yesterday that his staff had been involved in “introductory meetings” with British firm Serco, which wanted to run WA’s multimillion-dollar speed-camera operations.

Mr Johnson admitted that privatising speed and red-light operations was on the Barnett Government’s agenda and was supported by Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan.

But the plan has already drawn fire from the Opposition, which claims that putting the personal details of thousands of WA motorists in the hands of a private operator is unwise.

“The Government would also need to retain control of the placement of the cameras to ensure that the private operator was not able to place them solely based on revenue,” Opposition road safety spokeswoman Margaret Quirk said.

“Decisions on where cameras go can’t be based on revenue making, but public safety.”

There are also worries that innocent motorists could be slapped with fines.

In Victoria, Tenix Solutions was stripped of a multimillion-government contract in 2007 after a string of bungles. More than 1100 speeding tickets were wrongly issued.

In some cases cameras were incorrectly calibrated or set up near objects that caused interference.

“Given the recent Wilson car park debacle, where the personal details of thousands of drivers were handed over to private commercial interests, it is vital that any plan for the privatisation of speed-fine processing include strong privacy safeguards.”

Mr Johnson said work on a plan to privatise speed camera operations had started.

There are 27 analogue Multanovas in WA. The number will more than double over the next few months and police will purchase several integrated red-light and speed-camera systems.

REVENUE from speeding fines is expected to almost triple when new so-called “super cameras” are rolled out from July 30.

The 30 new speed cameras, able to take photographs of the front and back of vehicles, will be in place by the middle of the year. That will effectively double the number of Multanovas on Perth’s roads.

Coupled with extra revenue from new red light cameras, the total windfall from speeding fines is expected to skyrocket from $40 million to $112 million.

Opposition police spokeswoman Margaret Quirk has described the new cameras as a blatant money grab.

The new super cameras are expected to catch more motorcyclists with the new technology.

In 2007, Serco was awarded a $150 million contract to operate Victoria’s traffic-camera system for seven years, staffing and managing the state’s mobile speed cameras, red light cameras and CityLink cameras.

Tenix still enforces traffic fines.

A Serco spokeswoman said it was “interested in partnering with the (Barnett) Government and police to deliver the traffic-camera program in WA”.

“We are already providing a range of services to the WA Government, so we undertake regular meetings with them,” the spokeswoman said.

SPEED-CAMERA operations look set to be privatised in WA, prompting fears that profiteering might overtake road-safety priorities.

Police Minister Rob Johnson revealed yesterday that his staff had been involved in “introductory meetings” with British firm Serco, which wanted to run WA’s multimillion-dollar speed-camera operations.

Mr Johnson admitted that privatising speed and red-light operations was on the Barnett Government’s agenda and was supported by Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan.

But the plan has already drawn fire from the Opposition, which claims that putting the personal details of thousands of WA motorists in the hands of a private operator is unwise.

“The Government would also need to retain control of the placement of the cameras to ensure that the private operator was not able to place them solely based on revenue,” Opposition road safety spokeswoman Margaret Quirk said.

“Decisions on where cameras go can’t be based on revenue making, but public safety.”

There are also worries that innocent motorists could be slapped with fines.

In Victoria, Tenix Solutions was stripped of a multimillion-government contract in 2007 after a string of bungles. More than 1100 speeding tickets were wrongly issued.

In some cases cameras were incorrectly calibrated or set up near objects that caused interference.

“Given the recent Wilson car park debacle, where the personal details of thousands of drivers were handed over to private commercial interests, it is vital that any plan for the privatisation of speed-fine processing include strong privacy safeguards.”

Mr Johnson said work on a plan to privatise speed camera operations had started.

There are 27 analogue Multanovas in WA. The number will more than double over the next few months and police will purchase several integrated red-light and speed-camera systems.

In 2007, Serco was awarded a $150 million contract to operate Victoria’s traffic-camera system for seven years, staffing and managing the state’s mobile speed cameras, red light cameras and CityLink cameras.

Tenix still enforces traffic fines.

A Serco spokeswoman said it was “interested in partnering with the (Barnett) Government and police to deliver the traffic-camera program in WA”.

“We are already providing a range of services to the WA Government, so we undertake regular meetings with them,” the spokeswoman said.

More speed and red light cameras are likely to be found on Western Australian roads in a money-making plan by the State Government, according to Labor spokeswoman Margaret Quirk.

Ms Quirk said Road Safety Minister Rob Johnson gave a clear indication in Parliament that the only way the State Government could maintain Labor’s $15 million Road Trauma Trust Fund (RTTF) was through the revenue raised by more speed and red light cameras.

Yes, you read that right, the government is admiting that it can only “balance it’s books” if it can EARN MORE MONEY FROM SPEED AND RED LIGHT CAMREAS.

I thought speed cameras were supposed to lower the road toll, not increase revenue? Isn’t relying on an increase of  revenue counter-productive to what the “safety camera” claim is all about?

The Labor spokeswoman has now asked Mr Johnson to come clean on how many more speed cameras would be set up on WA roads to “rake” in more revenue.

“Having failed to secure funding from treasury that means one thing – Mr Johnson is planning to rake in vastly more than $45 million a year in speed and red light camera revenue in order to deliver at least $15million to the trauma trust fund and in turn, in excess of $30million will be directly delivered to treasury coffers,” Ms Quirk claimed.

“The majority of the money collected from the increase in roadside speed cameras and red light cameras will be delivered straight to treasury rather than to road safety campaigns where it is needed most.

“When will the West Australian public know how many more cameras will line the state’s roads and when will the road safety authorities know when they can prepare their budget?”

The Road Trauma Trust Fund is used for road safety education and advertising campaigns throughout WA.

How many more examples do we need to point out whereby speed cameras are there primarily to raise government revenues?

Dear Aussie speeding fines folks,

I wanted to share the Wikipedia definition of the MD5 algorithm just for your reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Md5 how secure is a code that is so easily cracked? It’s a joke!

On another topic, I had previously written to you to say I’d received a reply from the W.A. police in response to letter #1 (from your Ebook) I sent to them. They sent me an acknowledgment letter (which I shared with you a fortnight ago) saying the matter has been put on hold. I asked you then what I should do, and you replied promptly (as always) with the suggestion they were baffled by this correspondence and certainly agreed with me that they simply didn’t know haw to handle it! You suggested I send the 2nd default letter when 28 days have elapsed, but read on!

Well, today I received a phone call from the very (probationary) police officer who booked me (incorrectly) for speeding (121Km/h in a 110Km/h zone). She conceded defeat by telling me the infringement was not going to be pursued as they had no way of showing the device was traceable under the National Measurement Act (Cth) and actually ADMITTED that the device’s power supply (a CIGARETTE LIGHTER!) wasn’t shielded and was “of concern to all police officers” . She went on to admit further that SO MANY readings were “questionable most likely due to input power fluctuations” and that fellow traffic enforcement officers (by a large majority) have DEMANDED a shielded power supply AND remedial training as to the proper use of these devices. So, a WIN for me and for Aussie Speeding Fines! Thank you!!!!

Seeing as I am waiting for a court hearing (October 14th for mention) to fight a multanova (a tripod mounted road-side speed camera used in W.A.), I decided to educate myself further in regard to the MD5 algorithm, as it will be only ONE of many avenues I shall use to add reasonable doubt in my defense. I’d written to requesta brief of evidence and got it MINUS the photograph. When I wrote to the police again to ask for the photo, theyrang me and said they were “having problems proving the photographs were 100% dependable and not subject to corruption”, so they “weren’t going to send them along with the brief of evidence anymore”. I so wanted to get into a conversation with this officer (a sergeant who’s name I took), but I bit my tongue andonly replied with “with all due respect, anything you wish to discuss, be it a question or otherwise,must be done in writing”. Well, his response was amazing! He said he was “going to have a long hard look at my case because the queue for traffic court hearings was nearing 12 months or more and positive prosecution outcomesare becoming increasingly difficult”. Again, I said I wasn’t prepared to comment over the phone, so he went on to say that he “was recentlyissued a speed camera infringement and is absolutely adamant he is innocent” and asked me ifthe Aussie Speeding FinesEbook was any good because he intends to purchase one! I then KNEW that he was fishing, but I didn’t let him hook me. All I said was I didn’t know what he was talking about, so he went and gave me your website address! I NEVER let on that I was using your Ebook and said “thank you sir, I will go have a look when I get a chance”.