Alarming reason for state’s new mobile speed camera strategy
Mobile speed cameras and their usage have proven controversial in the past, but some road users have been taking matters into their hands.
Road authorities in one state are conducting an investigation into its mobile speed cameras after a string of suspected arson attacks. They say they've been forced to move them around more frequently in a bid to keep them safe from vandals, with a review into "camera deployment practices" currently underway.
Mobile speed cameras operate throughout all of Tasmania and "can be anywhere at any time", a spokesperson for the state's Department of State Growth told Yahoo News Australia. After "several suspected arson incidents in the first half of 2024", authorities are now reconsidering how best to roll out the cameras in their ongoing bid to "reduce the likelihood of injuries and crashes on our roads."
In May this year, the cameras spent a combined total of almost 1,800 enforcement hours on the roads issuing fines, around 500 hours less than the same month the previous year.
Suspected arson attacks prompt review into mobile speed cameras
While the number of cameras deployed rose from more than 300 in May, 2023 to over 500 in 2024, the cameras have been shifted around during the day and stored overnight to "minimise potential vandalism risk", the spokesperson said.
"Improving road safety is the primary function of mobile speed camera deployments," they told Yahoo.
"Mobile speed camera operations comprise a range of camera units including highly visible trailers and more covert unmarked vehicles. The Department of State Growth has been working with its supplier to review camera deployment practices to minimise potential vandalism risk while ensuring speed camera enforcement continues to reduce the likelihood of injuries and crashes".
"This review is ongoing and in the interim, the department has focused on more frequent deployments but for shorter periods, allowing more parts of the road network to be monitored.
"Damaged camera operations have been supplemented by both new and existing equipment."
Thirty four people died on Tasmanian roads in 2023, 17 fewer than in 2022 and below the five-year average of 37.2.
Speed cameras controversial across the country – but they save lives
As of April 2024, there were 16 mobile speed cameras across Tasmania— some that feature mobile phone and seatbelt detection capabilities — which had recorded $10 million in fines since being launched, Pulse reported.
Mobile speed cameras and their usage have proven controversial in the past, with some Aussies landing in hot water after taking out their anger out on the devices.
Earlier this year, a speed camera operator was allegedly assaulted and his vehicle badly damaged during a late-night attack. Five men are believed to have ambushed the traffic camera vehicle while it was parked in Melbourne's north.
It's alleged the group jumped onto the man's car, smashed in several windows and threw items at the driver. Photos show the shocking extent of the damage to the car's front and rear windscreens.
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