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 Heavy vehicle speed cameras installed on the Monaro Highway 

Heavy vehicle speed cameras installed on the Monaro Highway

29 Jul, 2010 10:46 AM
The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) is currently installing point to point cameras on a stretch of the Monaro Highway to monitor how fast truck drivers are going.

The 34-kilometre section of road between Bredbo and Cooma is one of 20 locations across the state to have the systems installed.

Point to point cameras target heavy vehicle users, with a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes or more. The cameras measure the amount of time it takes a heavy vehicle to drive between two points and then calculates the average speed of the vehicle.

Point to point camera locations are chosen based upon the frequency of heavy vehicle crashes, heavy vehicle speed and road conditions.

A spokesman for the RTA said the technology is aimed at slowing down speeding heavy vehicle users on a stretch of road with a history of heavy vehicle crashes.

“Statistics show from 2004 to 2008 there were three people killed and 21 injured along the stretch where the cameras will operate. Surveys found heavy vehicles were involved in two thirds of the fatal crashes,” he said.

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“Studies of point-to-point enforcement conducted overseas have shown a 50 per cent drop in fatal and serious injury crashes after these cameras were installed,” the spokesman said.

Research conducted by the RTA found that while heavy vehicles make up only three per cent of vehicle registrations, they are involved in 20 per cent of road fatalities.

For heavy vehicle users who are caught speeding in the point to point area existing speeding laws will apply and an additional demerit point will be incurred.

“This is because offences detected by point-to-point enforcement demonstrate continued speeding over a long distance,” the RTA spokesman said.

The cameras are expected to be operational soon and will be clearly marked, with warning signs posted at the start and end of these lengths of roads. An initial warning letter period will apply before infringements are issued.

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If the Government was serious about reducing road trauma they would place the Highway Patrol under the Command of Traffic Services where they would be deployed on road safety intelligence, and not diverted to other duties. Studies have shown that high visible police presence is the greatest deterrent to bad driver behaviour. Now the Government have invested taxpayers dollars on speed cameras they should have the capacity to detect all speeding motorists and not restricted to heavy vehicles. A high speed crash involving a car or heavy vehicle has the capacity to kill or serious injury and all motorists should be encouraged to travel at a safe speed. Speed cameras maybe a cheaper option than the deployment of Highway Patrol Police but are no substitute for a high visible police profile.
Posted by don campbell, 31/07/2010 11:17:17 AM, on Cooma Monaro Express
Trucks are not part of the problem on the Monaro Highway, and installing these cameras is an idiot placebo. I wouldn't even say that speeding is an issue, unless you count the unlimited number of morons doing 5 - 15km under the limit. Driving the road twice a day, I can say the problem is bad drivers. Fast-slow-fast-slow, veering into oncoming traffic, QLDers in 4WDs (most Canberrans and any Victorian), refusing to indicate, tail gateing, hi-beam flashing... I do see the cops out there regularly in winter, but all they do is use speed cameras, they never pull over someone for bad driving. P platers included.
Posted by Conan of Cooma, 2/08/2010 11:33:19 AM, on Cooma Monaro Express

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Contractors work on installing the point to point camera system on Wednesday.
Contractors work on installing the point to point camera system on Wednesday.

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