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26-05-2005, 06:30pm
Opinion poll after opinion poll shows that most people believe that traffic fines are more about revenue raising than safety but few have any evidence to back it up.
One of the most compelling pieces of evidence was provided by a group of police sergeants who contacted Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper to say they were sick of being used in what was blatant revenue raising. The Police Association basically agreed.
We are constantly reminded of the dangers of going over the speed limit and how road deaths are mainly caused by speed but the statistics give almost the opposite picture. In NSW only 4% of road deaths happen above the speed limit. In Queensland it is less than 2% and that includes known suicides, fatigue and police chases. We asked the Victorian government what their figures were but they said "it wasn’t in their interest to find out". I think that says it all. In England 7% of accidents happen above the speed limit. The statistics show that you have a 98% greater chance of being involved in a car accident traveling below the speed limit.
Authorities imply that it’s only the enforcement of their road rules that is keeping us safe. But a quirky situation occurred in some states of the USA a few years ago which left those states with no road rules. One of those states was Montana. Eventually roads rules similar to ours were introduced so we can compare statistics. Speeds were compared and it was found that people averaged only 4 mph faster with no road rules than they did with road rules. Another interesting fact is that the death rate doubled after the road rules were re-introduced. The findings of road research scientists in Montana on the effects of no speed limits and fatal accidents come as no surprise to the traffic safety engineering community.
Authorities imply that the faster you go the more dangerous driving is but again the facts show the opposite. Few people die on freeways. Statistically the most likely place you will die on the road is at an intersection, especially turning right, when you are driving slowly. So why are most speed detection devices placed between intersections on straight sections of road?
Melbourne’s freeways are lined with speed cameras. There are 19 on one alone (the Western Ring Rd) and the West Gate bridge has them in spite of the fact that there hasn’t been a road fatality on it for five years. The speed limit is 100 km/ph. However in Europe there are freeways with lanes that have no upper limit but which instead include lanes with minimum speed limits, where drivers can be booked for going too slowly. We might be led to believe that Australia’s freeways are safer but in fact statistics show that per capita, the death rate is about the same! This fact has been brought to the attention of our government and they acknowledge it.
Oppressive road laws are not unique to Australia. They are equally so in England, Holland, USA, Canada and NZ, but Australians and New Zealanders are the only people who haven’t stood up to the authorities about it. In Hawaii speed and red light cameras were smashed until the government gave up on them. The English and Canadians lobbied their governments to get rid of them all except in the most dangerous locations.
The National Motoring Association in the USA successfully lobbied the Federal Government to drop the national speed limit of 55 mph and give responsibility to the States which invariably raised the limit in Holland, cameras were shot, filled with styro-foam and burnt. The Australian government is confident in continuing apathy here. Victoria’s motorist association (the RACV) is aware of all the information you have seen here and more. But instead of representing its members it published an article recently that backed the government views.
According to police sources the radar guns used to calibrate mobile speed cameras in Victoria have not been calibrated for over four years. They are calibrated by the RMIT. The problem is that the RMIT is not authorised to calibrate speed cameras. According to the National Standards Commission all measuring devices used to make money must be calibrated by them. Any measuring device used to make money that is not calibrated by the NSC results in fines of $6,000 for the operator and $30,000 for the corporation involved. When you are pulled over for speeding you may ask to see if the camera has the NSC approved sticker on it. It won’t and this may constitute grounds for challenging the legality of the fine. The government won’t have the cameras calibrated by the NSC because it is expensive to do.
The Queensland Government have an "Every K is a killer" campaign. The facts in this campaign are so removed from the truth that if a private enterprise ran this campaign it could be charged with misleading advertising.
One of the most compelling pieces of evidence was provided by a group of police sergeants who contacted Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper to say they were sick of being used in what was blatant revenue raising. The Police Association basically agreed.
We are constantly reminded of the dangers of going over the speed limit and how road deaths are mainly caused by speed but the statistics give almost the opposite picture. In NSW only 4% of road deaths happen above the speed limit. In Queensland it is less than 2% and that includes known suicides, fatigue and police chases. We asked the Victorian government what their figures were but they said "it wasn’t in their interest to find out". I think that says it all. In England 7% of accidents happen above the speed limit. The statistics show that you have a 98% greater chance of being involved in a car accident traveling below the speed limit.
Authorities imply that it’s only the enforcement of their road rules that is keeping us safe. But a quirky situation occurred in some states of the USA a few years ago which left those states with no road rules. One of those states was Montana. Eventually roads rules similar to ours were introduced so we can compare statistics. Speeds were compared and it was found that people averaged only 4 mph faster with no road rules than they did with road rules. Another interesting fact is that the death rate doubled after the road rules were re-introduced. The findings of road research scientists in Montana on the effects of no speed limits and fatal accidents come as no surprise to the traffic safety engineering community.
Authorities imply that the faster you go the more dangerous driving is but again the facts show the opposite. Few people die on freeways. Statistically the most likely place you will die on the road is at an intersection, especially turning right, when you are driving slowly. So why are most speed detection devices placed between intersections on straight sections of road?
Melbourne’s freeways are lined with speed cameras. There are 19 on one alone (the Western Ring Rd) and the West Gate bridge has them in spite of the fact that there hasn’t been a road fatality on it for five years. The speed limit is 100 km/ph. However in Europe there are freeways with lanes that have no upper limit but which instead include lanes with minimum speed limits, where drivers can be booked for going too slowly. We might be led to believe that Australia’s freeways are safer but in fact statistics show that per capita, the death rate is about the same! This fact has been brought to the attention of our government and they acknowledge it.
Oppressive road laws are not unique to Australia. They are equally so in England, Holland, USA, Canada and NZ, but Australians and New Zealanders are the only people who haven’t stood up to the authorities about it. In Hawaii speed and red light cameras were smashed until the government gave up on them. The English and Canadians lobbied their governments to get rid of them all except in the most dangerous locations.
The National Motoring Association in the USA successfully lobbied the Federal Government to drop the national speed limit of 55 mph and give responsibility to the States which invariably raised the limit in Holland, cameras were shot, filled with styro-foam and burnt. The Australian government is confident in continuing apathy here. Victoria’s motorist association (the RACV) is aware of all the information you have seen here and more. But instead of representing its members it published an article recently that backed the government views.
According to police sources the radar guns used to calibrate mobile speed cameras in Victoria have not been calibrated for over four years. They are calibrated by the RMIT. The problem is that the RMIT is not authorised to calibrate speed cameras. According to the National Standards Commission all measuring devices used to make money must be calibrated by them. Any measuring device used to make money that is not calibrated by the NSC results in fines of $6,000 for the operator and $30,000 for the corporation involved. When you are pulled over for speeding you may ask to see if the camera has the NSC approved sticker on it. It won’t and this may constitute grounds for challenging the legality of the fine. The government won’t have the cameras calibrated by the NSC because it is expensive to do.
The Queensland Government have an "Every K is a killer" campaign. The facts in this campaign are so removed from the truth that if a private enterprise ran this campaign it could be charged with misleading advertising.