Speed Cameras & Speeding Fines Blog

Tasmania has a chance to lead Australia in road safety standards, writes HAROLD SCRUBY.

IT is an indictment on our society that significant changes in regulations and enforcement seem to follow horrific tragedies on our roads.

In New South Wales, after the deaths of four teenagers in a car driven by a P-plater in 2006, the Government introduced some of the toughest P-plate laws in the world. Was it just another knee-jerk reaction, or will this actually save lives? The media has still been busy reporting “p-plate hoon stories” since.

Similarly, following the serious injuries to Sophie Delezio at a child care centre, the Government introduced some of the toughest school-zone illegal parking and speeding regulations in the world.

Following the worst day in history on Tasmania’s roads on July 9, the Government is now in a position to [knee jerk reaction again?] grasp the nettle and get serious about road safety and road trauma.

There are two major killers on our roads: alcohol and speed.

WRONG Harold – actually the biggest killers on our roads are inattentive drivers.

There has been a dramatic cultural shift in the community’s attitude to drink-driving over the past decade. It is now considered utterly irresponsible.

Speeding is culturally different, but equally deadly. Now is the time to make it as socially unacceptable as drink-driving. It continues to be the major contributing factor in up to 40 per cent of fatal crashes.

WRONG AGAIN HAROLD – it appears yet another person sucked in to the whole “speeding is the main contributing factor blah blah blah – yet again drumming into the public that you are completely “safe” if you’re travelling below the speed limit (putting on your lipstick / “rubber necking” at something as you drive by or change lanes without checking your blind spots).

Speeding is a contributing factor [read: not major contributing factor] and by speeding, we are talking “exceeding the posted speed limit” is a factor in 12% of fatal crashes adn 5% of all crashes.

Look at research done by REAL independent sources (not ones whom funding comes from the associated government departments) and you see figures such as these:

On average there are around 1.75 factors recorded per crash.

Exceeding the speed limit is a factor in 12% of fatal crashes, and 5% of all crashes.

And driving too fast for the conditions is a factor in 17% of fatal crashes and 12% of all crashes.

Interestingly excellent USA research has shown that distraction is probably a factor in 65% or more of crashes – yet GB police only identify it as a factor in 2% of all crashes!

And there are USA reports supporting that of the 20%-30% of crashes where speed is a factor, in only 5% is exceeding the speed limit the issue.

Source:
John Lambert (Manager Road safety research at VicRoads from 1990 – 1994)
MIEAust, CPEng 180785, Member ASME
Bachelor of Engineering (University of Melbourne), ARMIT (Mechanical)
Research into the effect of speeding on crash risk conducted by the Road Accident Research Unit at the University of Adelaide found that in a 60km/h zone, the risk of a crash doubles with each 5km/h travelled over the speed limit. ["Bullshit" - according to John Lambert]

Only last week, the Victorian Government announced the single biggest boost to the state’s speed-camera network since the devices were introduced in 1986. Of course they did – the government revenues collected over the last 10 months have been in decline due to the recession. How to increase taxes without getting the voters off-side? More speed cameras, sold under a “road safety” initative.

There, they have outsourced all their covert mobile speed camera operations and increased the hours of operation from 6000 to 9000 a month. This frees up police time and resources to allow them to get back on the roads and on the beat. [That actually is a good thing]

Victoria leads Australia in speed management. And independent studies verify the enormous lifesaving value of covert speed-camera enforcement. [Really? Please provide links to your resources] The Australian Transport Council’s National Road Safety Action Plan for 2007 and 2008 states: “Improvements in speed management have generally been incremental since 2000, but in Victoria large-scale integrated speed management initiatives were implemented from early 2002. Measured travel speeds declined on many parts of the road network, not just at enforcement sites.

“These changes were followed by a large and sustained reduction in road deaths, particularly among vulnerable road users and in urban areas, where the effect of travel speeds was greatest.

[A "large & sustained reduction in road deaths"? - Please back up these statements with figures.
According to http://www.tacsafety.com.au/jsp/statistics/roadtollrolling.do?areaID=23&tierID=1&navID=4 the (rolling road toll) number of fatalities in Victoria over the last 5 years looks like this:

"There is evidence that improved speed management has made a major contribution to the overall improvement in road safety outcomes in Victoria." [Again, lets see it please]

In a comprehensive study published in June 2003 by the renowned Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), [the government's favourite centre for writing reports to sell their strategies] it was reported: “Following the full implementation of the mobile speed camera program (including supporting mass media publicity), statistically significant reductions in low alcohol hour casualty crashes were found across arterial roads in Melbourne and country towns and on rural highways.

“This demonstrates that the intense, covert use of speed cameras can lead to long-term reductions in low alcohol hour casualty crashes across a number of road types when accompanied by high-profile publicity.”

Advertising and education campaigns are generally a waste of time and money. And why on earth should safe drivers be penalised by having to subsidise higher risk drivers?

The best and most cost-effective awareness campaigns are through penalising those road users who break the law. It is amazing how quickly law breakers are “educated” when they receive a penalty notice in the mail.

[Actually the effect of receiving a penalty in the mil several weeks (if not months at one stage in WA) is NO WHERE NEAR the same effect as being pulled over by a highway patrol officer then and there at the time of the offense]

But it is the demerit point system that has the greatest effect on changing driver behaviour. Former justice Marcus Einfeld is currently serving two years in jail, not because he wanted to avoid a $70 speeding fine. It was because he wanted to avoid the three demerit points. Fines are paid and quickly forgotten: demerit points remain as a constant reminder for three years.

So how does Tasmania stack up against New South Wales and Victoria?

Honestly, some of Tasmania’s penalties are a joke and are screaming out for review. Let’s stop pretending that Tasmanians are so much poorer than the rest of Australia. A Big Mac costs the same in Melbourne and Sydney as it does in Hobart.

And let’s treat those who bleat “revenue-raising” in defence of the indefensible with the contempt they deserve. [PFT...wake up Harold, let's treat those that bleat "speed cameras save lives" as the mindless drone sheep they have become, and instead, let's look at real road safety measures inclduing putting more police back on the roads and improve our driver education and licensing.

You can take ANY profession that involves an element of risk and you will see a proportionate amount of training that must be done BEFORE you can qualify for the position. A surgeon has to complete 6 – 8 years of training before they can pick up a scalpel and operate on someone, even a hairdresser must complete a minimum course before they can pick up a pair of scissors just to cut someone’s hair. BUT, there is NO real level of training required to drive a car.

It has been proven that the most dangerous thing you can do each day is hop in your car and take to the roads. So, based on the information detailed above, this would suggest that you should be trained for in excess of 8 years before you can do that.

Now, that is obviously not practical – but CLEARLY neither is the minimum standard that is being used today. Just as the government provides public schools to educate us and public hospitals to look after us, we FIRMLY believe that, with all the money they have collected so far from speeding fines, they should provide free driver training for EVERYONE before they even receive a driver’s licence.

Learning how to reverse park from your Mum and Dad or having 2 - 3 lessons from a private instructor – that many people can’t afford to pay for – simply doesn’t cut it. Would you allow yourself to be operated on by someone who learnt surgery from their Mum or Dad but had no formal qualification? Of course not!

We need to have a detailed, formal driver training program in place that every single person must complete BEFORE they are given a licence to drive a car, bike, truck etc. on our roads. One of the fundamental parts of this driver training would be to allow young drivers to attempt to exploit their limits and those of their vehicles in a controlled environment. Most people are NOT idiots (despite the fact that the government still chooses to treat us as such) and if they can see for themselves that they can’t REALLY do what they thought they could in a car in a controlled environment, they will be FAR less likely to try it out on a public road.

But THEN, if they were not only given the opportunity, but ENCOURAGED to continue improving their skills – again, by way of proper driver education undertaken in controlled environments – we would find the base level of competence on the road would improve DRAMATICALLY and then the road toll really would DECREASE.

Most of you would agree that people perform better when they are given incentives. Sales people tend to get better results when offered a performance based bonus, employees will work harder if they have an employee of the month type award to strive for and clients will be more loyal when offered a VIP customer status. Most of us agree that this makes logical sense yet the government does NOT do this – all they ever do is punish us for what they BELIEVE is bad behaviour.

Think about this for a moment. Have you ever watched a child take his or her first steps? Eventually they fall over but the parent doesn’t yell out “You idiot, you fell over. You’ll never be able to walk.” In fact, we would be HORRIFIED if they did. No, instead, they say “Yeah, that’s it. Keep going. Try again, etc.” They offer words of encouragement for doing the right thing. The reality is that the best training is REWARDS based training, NOT fear based.

So, what if the government introduced rewards for better drivers? What if you received a discount on your registration if you haven’t been involved in an accident – not that you haven’t been speeding, but you haven’t been involved in an accident – because after all, that is what we are REALLY trying to stop isn’t it, accidents.

What if the government rewarded you with the ability to drive that little bit faster than everyone else (on open roads) if you had completed certain courses and could PROVE that you were a focussed, competent driver? Do you think some of these strategies might work? They would HAVE to be more effective than the current ones – which clearly DON’T work!

Now, we’re not talking about letting people run around at high speed in the back streets but if you can prove you have a high performance car and you have A) the interest and B) taken the initiative to improve your driving skills, should you not be rewarded for that? If you start your own business or invest money should you not have a right to be rewarded for that, over others who just do a 9 – 5 job?

Apart from the pain, grief and suffering, road trauma costs Australia about $18 billion per annum. Revenue from traffic fines is about $900 million. There is a deficit of at least $17 billion per annum before we raise one cent from traffic fines. So why then does the government only spend a small fraction of that $900 million [and actually your figues are wrong, its over 1 billion] instead of devoting the entire amount towards road safety?

Dangerous parking can be as lethal as dangerous driving. Tasmania’s parking fines are farcical.

[Yes, let's look at Tasmania's road crash fatalities and how they relate to major road safety initatives:

In New South Wales, following the Sophie Delezio tragedy, the Government introduced the toughest school-zone penalties in the world. Penalties for offences such as double-parking, stopping in bus zones and pedestrian zones now attract penalties exceeding $230 and two demerit points. Compare this with the $50 feather-thrashing in Tasmania.

In New South Wales, all dangerous driving offences in school zones attract significantly higher fines, along with an extra demerit point.

NSW - number of road fatalities over the last 10 years:

It's not a very resounding "reduction" over the last 10 years - particularly 2009's spike. And can you show us the exact amount speed cameras have played in this small reduction versus better quality roads, safer cars (ABS, traction control, multiple airbags etc) - No, of course you can't - nobody can, yet logically these factors will have played a roll in reducing the number of deaths on our roads.

Across Australia, the judiciary has become universally four-ply soft on dangerous driving. They generally refuse to jail repeat and recidivist dangerous drivers until they kill or maim their innocent victims. Many of these criminals show such utter contempt of court, they drive home after their licences have been confiscated.

In Western Australia, anyone driving while disqualified now has his or her vehicle automatically impounded for 28 days, regardless of ownership. Repeat offences attract up to six months' impounding, and they are now considering forfeiture.

Finally, we must get serious about the national epidemic of the use of hand-held mobile phones. This behaviour is as dangerous as mid-range driving under the influence. Forget the fines: make it six demerit points and confiscate the phone. [Lets go one better Harold - execute the person. China here we come]

Here’s what we’d do if we were in government: [and thank god you're not in government Harold, as I would refuse to live in your communist police state]

• Automatic impoundment of all vehicles for disqualified, high-range speeding, dangerous driving and high-range DUI offences. First offence 28 days, forfeiture for second offence within five years, regardless of ownership. [Why not simply put mandatory electronic speed restrictions on all cars?]

• Speeding penalties to at least equate to those of Victoria, with accentuation on demerit points and automatic loss of licence.

• Widespread covert speed cameras outsourced to free up police resources — and make it a serious offence to broadcast their location. [Aren't OVERT cameras more effective?]

• Double demerit points for all demerit point offences during holiday periods. [Heck let's have no demerit points, 1 offence, you lose your license and go back to horse and cart]

• Emulate the NSW school-zone penalties (children are our greatest asset and deserve maximum protection). [add flashing lights to EVERY school zone that come on during every enforcement time - or better still, an electronic signal is transmitted that automatically limits the speed to all cars in the zone to 40k/h - something EASILY acheivable with today's technology]

• 40km/h zones in all CBDs, shopping zones and areas of high pedestrian activity. As above

• Embrace the latest technology, including red-light speed cameras (at black-spot intersections and crossings) and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) in all police vehicles to catch unregistered, uninsured and unlicensed drivers — they pay for themselves in a month. [Interesting to see how the economy performs with everyone unable to work after they lose their 1 demerit point from point number 4

• Reduce the maximum speed limit to 100km/h on all undivided roads. Why not improve the roads so higher speeds can safely be attained like in Europe?

• Increase the minimum age for a P-plate licence to 18 (as in Victoria). You can't vote, drink, sign a contract or go to war until you are 18 -- full licence at 21. {Agreed, but love how you added "go to war" - it's an intersting insite to your physcology Harold, goes with the rest of your police state suggestions]

• Emulate the Victorian and NSW P-plate legislation: zero tolerance on speeding, zero alcohol, along with passenger and night-time restrictions, and restrictions on fast and powerful vehicles. [let's make a curfew instead and ban driving all together unless you are driving to or from work or working for the government. Hail Adolf Scruby]

• Automatic confiscation for use of hand-held mobile phones for three months and forfeiture for second offences, along with six demerit points. [No, execute them in the street instead]

• Mandatory jail sentences for any driver convicted of three dangerous driving offences (eg high-range speeding, DUI, hooning, racing, etc) in any five-year period. [How about mandatory jail sentences for those that write bullshit stories using unsubstantiated facts and figues]?

Come on Tasmania, here’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to lead Australia in road safety and save countless lives, limbs and dollars in the process.

Harold Scruby is chairman and chief executive of the Pedestrian Council of Australia. This story, and the author’s comments and opinions and not necessarily those of the directors, administrators, moderators or affiliates of Delonix