Speeding fines skyrocket in NSW

The move to unmarked mobile speed cameras in New South Wales is being fingered as a key contributor to a massive spike in traffic offences and revenue from speeding fines that is now flowing into the state’s coffers at twice the rate it was last financial year.

Figures from the NSW government’s revenue office show that 482,008 speed camera offences were committed from July 1 to December 31, 2020 – including more than 203,000 in November and December combined – which is worth almost $100 million ($98,792,731).

These include penalty notices from both static and mobile speed cameras, and is more than double the rate compared to the first half of the 2019/20 financial year, when 229,563 speeding offences worth $52.7 million were logged over the same period.

In fact, just shy of 30,000 more penalty notices for speeding were issued in the six months to the end of December last year than they were for the entire 12 months in the previous financial year ending June 30, 2020.

Up until last December, signs alerting motorists that a mobile speed camera ahead were provided in NSW. However, the Berejiklian government’s crackdown on speeding drivers has seen them removed – and the number of cameras and their hours of operation tripled.

And the results are plain for all to see.

In December 2020, a whopping 102,649 speeding motorists were caught in NSW, producing revenue of $22.74 million. The same month a year earlier saw 39,214 offences worth $9.1m.

A report from 9news breaks the figures down even further, with mobile speed camera said to have contributed $2.5 million in revenue compared to just $400,000 in December 2019.

The huge increase in fines was seen across the state, but the busiest camera was located on Penshurst Street in Chatswood, issuing 398 fines worth $77,088.

This was followed by the Hume Highway in Casula – a notorious crash zone – which caught 335 speeding motorists (with fines totalling $80,446), and King Street in Warrawong, where 275 fines were issued worth $58,161.

See the table below for the top 10 hotspots.

While the NRMA has questioned whether unmarked cameras will change behaviour, given that the fines don’t turn up in the mail for a few weeks, the government is unrepentant, saying the initiative makes roads safer and produces revenue that will go straight back into road funding.

It quotes independent modelling from the Monash University Accident Research Centre which suggests that between 34 and 43 lives could be saved each year as a direct result of the measures.

Expect more unmarked speed detection vehicles on NSW roads throughout 2021, and for them to be even harder to spot, with the tell-tale reflective panelling and decals to be removed from the vast majority of vehicles to make them look just like any other car parked on the side of the road.

They’ll also be fitted with the latest technology that enables them to catch speeding vehicles in both directions.

Top 10 mobile speed camera hotspots in NSW by number of fines issued (December 2020):
Penshurst St, Chatswood (northbound) – 398 fines worth $77,088
Hume Highway, Casula (southbound) – 335 fines worth $80,446
King Street, Warrawong (southbound) – 275 fines worth $58,161
Docker St, Wagga Wagga (northbound) – 218 fines worth $35,334
Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford (southbound) – 184 fines worth $38,820
Excelsior Parade, Toronto (westbound) – 174 fines worth $29,542
Greater Western Highway, Colyton (westbound) – 160 fines worth $30,412
Blacktown Rd, Blacktown (eastbound) – 147 fines worth $29,523
Pacific Highway, Tuggerah (northbound) – 144 fines worth $27,034
M31 Hume Motorway, Ingleburn (southbound) – 140 fines worth $41,708
Source: 9news.com.au