a mobile speed camera temporarily installed on a rural road led to at least 589 fines being issued in a town of just 811 households.
Gods that data is appalling. Is it really likely that that rate speeding is really going on? Especially after the first few days once the locals are familiar with the placement of the camera and won’t be caught unawares.
As she drove past, she said an electronic speed-monitoring sign on the side of the road lit up green with a smile, indicating it believed she was going under the limit of 60km/h.
Weeks later, she discovered the camera disagreed. That was one of nine fines issued to her car between 15 and 20 September. All of them arrived the same day.
The fact that the fines take weeks to show up and you can be driving the same stretch of road that entire time, getting a fine every single day, is appalling. All but one fine per person should be thrown out on that basis alone.
The fact that their Speed Awareness Monitor thinks they were doing the right speed is also particularly bad. It seems likely to be the best evidence that this camera was just miscalbibrated and all its fines should be scrapped. But even if the camera was calibrated correctly and it’s the SAM that’s wrong, the fact that the SAM told drivers they’re going the right speed should be ground enough for aquital, in my opinion. They were given clearance and told they were doing the right thing.
It’s like if a Council officer pilut on high vis and started controlling a signalised intersection, instructing drivers to ignore the traffic lights. It doesn’t matter that that officer might not have the appropriate training or authorisation to be doing what he was doing. Drivers shouldn’t be given a red light fine for going when someone who appeared authoritative said they should go.
Gods that data is appalling. Is it really likely that that rate speeding is really going on? Especially after the first few days once the locals are familiar with the placement of the camera and won’t be caught unawares.
Despite the example you gave - almost none of those fines would have been locals.
It’s a major interstate route and people travelling through the town are the ones that get fined - in other parts of the state the speed limit for that road would be far higher (probably 110kph with a bypass for the town) and wouldn’t be enforced as heavily either.
If it were a major interstate route, it would have a name, instead of being called Small Town-Smaller Town Rd (Atherton-Malanda Rd). It also wouldn’t be 250km north of the last major route to the NT (Flinders Hwy) or 20km west of the road to Cairns (Bruce Hwy). Your claim is completely untrue.
If it were a major interstate route, it would have a name
It’s effectively part of Highway 1 - which goes around the coast through every coastal city on mainland Australia.
It’s not officially part of it, but west of Cairns a bridge has been closed to a lot of traffic for three years. Most people don’t expect the bridge to be repaired, more likely they’ll move the highway… but preliminary investigations have been suppressed (not a good sign) and nearly $10m is being spent just on planning to decide what to do - the results of that planning effort are scheduled to be released by the end of next year - who knows when construction will start. In the mean time, Atherton-Malanda Rd is one of the detour options, depending where you’re going along Highway 1.
It’s also a major tourist road - about half a million tourists per year drive along it.
You’re right, it’s not a major highway. But it is and always has been used for heavy freight and more than ever since the bridge is a mess. It was originally built well over a hundred years ago to haul massive old growth rainforest tree trunks to be shipped off to Europe - I’m talking trees where a single log would need an oversize truck to move it by modern standards. These days the road is depended on by local farmers and it’s almost a blessing that it’s not a federal highway, because being a local road means it’s actually considered a priority by the government that maintains it.
Gods that data is appalling. Is it really likely that that rate speeding is really going on? Especially after the first few days once the locals are familiar with the placement of the camera and won’t be caught unawares.
The fact that the fines take weeks to show up and you can be driving the same stretch of road that entire time, getting a fine every single day, is appalling. All but one fine per person should be thrown out on that basis alone.
The fact that their Speed Awareness Monitor thinks they were doing the right speed is also particularly bad. It seems likely to be the best evidence that this camera was just miscalbibrated and all its fines should be scrapped. But even if the camera was calibrated correctly and it’s the SAM that’s wrong, the fact that the SAM told drivers they’re going the right speed should be ground enough for aquital, in my opinion. They were given clearance and told they were doing the right thing.
It’s like if a Council officer pilut on high vis and started controlling a signalised intersection, instructing drivers to ignore the traffic lights. It doesn’t matter that that officer might not have the appropriate training or authorisation to be doing what he was doing. Drivers shouldn’t be given a red light fine for going when someone who appeared authoritative said they should go.
Despite the example you gave - almost none of those fines would have been locals.
It’s a major interstate route and people travelling through the town are the ones that get fined - in other parts of the state the speed limit for that road would be far higher (probably 110kph with a bypass for the town) and wouldn’t be enforced as heavily either.
I thought about that, but the fact is that the way the article presents it gives us no reason to believe that’s the case.
If it were a major interstate route, it would have a name, instead of being called Small Town-Smaller Town Rd (Atherton-Malanda Rd). It also wouldn’t be 250km north of the last major route to the NT (Flinders Hwy) or 20km west of the road to Cairns (Bruce Hwy). Your claim is completely untrue.
It’s effectively part of Highway 1 - which goes around the coast through every coastal city on mainland Australia.
It’s not officially part of it, but west of Cairns a bridge has been closed to a lot of traffic for three years. Most people don’t expect the bridge to be repaired, more likely they’ll move the highway… but preliminary investigations have been suppressed (not a good sign) and nearly $10m is being spent just on planning to decide what to do - the results of that planning effort are scheduled to be released by the end of next year - who knows when construction will start. In the mean time, Atherton-Malanda Rd is one of the detour options, depending where you’re going along Highway 1.
It’s also a major tourist road - about half a million tourists per year drive along it.
You’re right, it’s not a major highway. But it is and always has been used for heavy freight and more than ever since the bridge is a mess. It was originally built well over a hundred years ago to haul massive old growth rainforest tree trunks to be shipped off to Europe - I’m talking trees where a single log would need an oversize truck to move it by modern standards. These days the road is depended on by local farmers and it’s almost a blessing that it’s not a federal highway, because being a local road means it’s actually considered a priority by the government that maintains it.