Safety – Amenity – Access – Health

Media Release

The Chairman of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, Harold Scruby, today implored the NSW Government and Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal to ignore the shock-jocks and implement a modern, digital, covert speed and red-light camera enforcement program throughout NSW.

Mr Scruby said:  “Please don’t listen to the shock-jocks.  Look at the facts.  Covert speed-camera and red-light camera enforcement saves lives.

“This proposal is not revenue-raising … it’s life-saving.

“Apart from the pain, grief and suffering, road trauma costs NSW approximately $6 billion dollars per annum.  These costs must be covered before any revenue is raised.  And who better to contribute towards these costs, than those motorists who flout the law.

“Our Media Release and FoI (copy attached) of 4 January 2007, prove our case.

“And independent studies verify the enormous life-saving value of covert speed-camera enforcement:

“The Australian Transport Council’s National Road Safety Action Plan for 2007 & 2008 states: (QUOTE) ‘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.  There is evidence that improved speed management has made a major contribution to the overall improvement in road safety outcomes in Victoria.’

“In a comprehensive study published in June 2003 by the renowned Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), it was reported: (QUOTE) ‘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.’

Mr Scruby added:  “There is a wide network of truck-drivers, taxis, couriers and radio stations who broadcast the location of overt mobile speed-camera operations within seconds of their establishment.  Our FoI proved conclusively, that only the effectively covert Lidar operations were able to catch a significant number of high-range speedsters.  This is an utter farce.  Governments have just got to get a lot smarter and catch those criminals who believe that speed limits are for others, except of course, when they see a marked police vehicle or at speed-camera locations which have more warnings than a cigarette pack. 

“Motorists who speed should expect to be booked:  anywhere – anytime.”  Mr Scruby said.