Aussie driver caught twice by 'sneaky' placement of speed camera on highway
Richard Mackay, 84, believes the speed camera was deliberately placed where it is to catch drivers out.
An elderly driver will have to dig deep into his pockets after copping two speeding fines worth a total of $773 from the same roadside camera last month.
Richard Mackay, 84, told Yahoo News he felt "cheated" by the position of the speed camera and believes it has been deliberately placed "metres inside a 60 [km/h] zone" along one of Queensland's main highways to catch driver's out.
"The Bruce Highway goes straight through the main street of Bororen," he said, meaning drivers are forced to drop to 60 km/h before returning to a 100 km/h limit once exiting the town. "The cameras are obviously positioned so that it catches a car going north or coming south."
He says it is "sneakily" placed just as a motorist would arrive or leave the restricted speed zone area, which he called the "transition phase", rather than further into the zone where drivers will have had time to drop to the speed limit.
He also expressed his disbelief that the camera had the ability to capture both sides of the road and was "annoyingly" caught twice during his return trip from Brisbane to Cairns.
No consideration for 'transition' of speed, motorist said
"Anyone who is leaving the 60 km/h zone as I was and accelerates even slightly coming up to the 100 [km/h] sign gets caught," he said. "Coming back in my braking was a bit slow ... I was about five metres inside the sign and was caught again."
The first infringement travelling north to Cairns cost Mr Mackay $309 plus one demerit point after driving 67 km/h in the 60 zone, while the second cost him $464 plus three demerit points for driving 72 km/h in the same area.
"I'm annoyed about it because I have a pretty good driving record and I am a careful driver," he said.
The motorist accepts that, despite his frustrations, he was over the speed limit and will pay the combined fine.
"It's a pretty hefty penalty $773 for what a really minor infringement ... it's obviously just a revenue grab by the government the way its positioned."
Speed camera catches out hundreds of drivers
Hundreds of people have been issued fines after being caught out by the speed camera in question, with Mr Mackay seemingly the latest in a long line of disgruntled drivers to receive a fine, or several, in the mail.
Local MP Stephen Bennett has been inundated with complaints about the speed camera, telling the Courier Mail that some motorists have racked up "ten or eleven fines" with many particularly unhappy with its position along the highway.
However the Queensland Department of Transports and Main Roads (TMR) dispute claims the camera is "set up near changes to the speed limit" and insist the camera is indicated by a "bright yellow trailer" well before the 60 km/h zone.
"The nearest speed sign denoting a speed change is the 100km/h speed sign approximately 300m north of where the camera trailer was positioned," a spokesperson told Yahoo News.
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The speed camera was on "rotation" and was only in Bororen between August 31 and September 14, however, despite the short timeframe 13 per cent of all vehicles which past it were detected to be speeding, the TMR spokesperson said.
"There is no excuse for speeding and that speeding contributes to fatal and serious injury crashes."
"Motorists should continue to expect to see these bright yellow, highly visible, trailer mounted speed cameras deployed anywhere, at any time to help reduce road trauma in regional areas."
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