Originally Posted by
iahphx
This all sounds a bit frightening for a foreign driver: $500 fines for basically doing nothing except not being insanely-vigilant about speed limit signs. It's pretty obvious that, in Australia, you cannot simply drive a "reasonable speed"; you have to devote much of your attention to watching the speed limit signs. This strikes me as horrible public policy, but Australia is certainly not alone in the world in burdening motorists with draconian fines for miniscule speed violations.
Are these cameras confined to the major cities, or are they on rural roads? I'm doing a 3-week drive across Australia and, if the cameras are prevalent, I've got a bad feeling that my luck will eventually run out. Is there a website that tracks the cameras? Thanks.
most Australian states have a mix of fixed and mobile cameras. depending on the state, mobile cameras may not be marked.
fixed cameras are usually placed in known areas where speeding can cause a problem. mobile cameras can be moved as required.
many states will combine speed and red light cameras... specifically for the purpose of deterring drivers who speed up to pass an amber light before it becomes red.
Australia enjoys one of the lowest road tolls in the world. speed, fatigue and drugs (legal and illegal) are the major contributing factors to road trauma.
the mix of fixed and covert cameras keep the overall speed on the network lower. the lower the overall speed, the less severe is the road trauma... not just deaths, but disability, brain injury and everything else.
while speed limits are enforced by the government, the selected speed for any particular area is often set by input from relevant bodies including the police, local council authorities, and road safety experts. what you think is a 'reasonable speed' may not in fact be so based on historical evidence for that road.
it's worth noting that 40 km/hr is now becoming common in suburban streets. 40km/hr was hard to get used to when it was first introduced...you're almost exceeding that in a few seconds of setting off from a set of lights. but you get used to it.
40km/hr is also the usual limit around schools during peak hours, and at road works sites (which should be followed even if you see no road works in progress!)
speed limits are clearly marked, with large signs. it is particularly important when arriving or driving through rural towns... the limit can drop from 100 to 80 and then 60 (or lower) very quickly as you approach the town. if you are not on the ball you may well get caught. (you may want to consider engaging your fellow front seat passenger to call out speed limits as they see them as a back up to your own observations)
most state governments in Australia are on the record saying they would rather not get the fines revenue for speeding and other motoring offenses. the money received does not offset the cost to public services such as hospitals, police, ambulance and rehabilitation that road trauma costs. not to mention the emotional cost to people that need to clean up the mess.
the locations of fixed cameras is not secret and at one time the 'general location' of mobile cameras was also disclosed (in Victoria for example). it would be arguably more complex to try and remember all the locations rather than just stay at or under the limit.