Has removing signage in NSW for mobile speed cameras really made that much difference?

There has been quite a bit written in the press since the mobile speed cameras' signage has been removed in NSW, but the real question is, has it really made that much difference?

Whilst the press highlights the removal of mobile speed camera signage as the main point, there's two other points that are probably making most of the increase in speeding fines.

First the NSW's government has increased the number of hours for mobile speed cameras from 7,000 hours a  year to 21,000 hours a year. An increase by a factor of three.

Secondly, by removing the requirement for an mobile speed camera operator to place signage before and after the mobile speed camera car (which means the cameras only cover one side of the road), mobile speed cameras can now cover both sides of the road by doing nothing extra. That's an increase by a factor of two byt covering both sides of the road.

In total we have an increase in coverage based on increased hours and increasing coverage to cover both sides of the road, giving us an increase by a factor of six.

So how does that compare with the increase the government has seen in revenue?

Based on the figures released for December 2020, there's been a large increase to $2.5 million from $400,000 for the same period last year. Now if we increase $400,000 by a factor of six we end up with $2.4 million, or roughly what we'd expect to see based in increase coverage and increased hours. Overally the loss of signage appears to have made little difference.

Speeding fines in NSW skyrocket after warning signs for cameras removed (9news.com.au)

The reality is if you're not speeding your won't get booked. If you're observant whilst driving, the mobile speed camera cars generally stand out. They're generally parked in ways most people don't park, on a naturestip by themselves. Some do park in lanes on the road where there's parking, but most appear to park out of the way of traffic on naturestrips or kerbs. An observant driver will make sure they're not speeding. 

For me the one concerning piece of information is the NSW government stated the change will reduce the death toll by 34-43 a year. That means if increasing mobile speed camera coverage by a factor of six reduces the detoll by 34-43 a year, if we take one sixth (the current coverage) mobile speed cameras currently possibly make a difference of 5 - 7 deaths a year and fgiven the size of the death toll, that's quite a low impact in terms of saving lives on our roads given the size of the revenue being raised and speed to enforce speed limits. I can't help feeling a better way would be to provide every driver with a device that alerts them to when they're speeding. I know using Waze or AmiGo certainly helps me drive within the speed limit.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.SpeedCameraLocations.com.au