Drivers call out 'unacceptable' speed camera sign on busy highway

Motorists have called out the discrete placement of a mobile speed camera warning sign on a busy highway as "unacceptable", with many believing it was conveniently put there for "revenue raising" purposes. And it is not the first time people have questioned the speed camera set-up at this Sydney location.

After a driver saw the sign along the Great Western Highway at Kingswood in Sydney's west he got out of his car and walked down the three-lane highway to film the warning sign ahead of a mobile speed camera by the side of the road. It was obstructed by parked cars in the inside lane, making it difficult for passing cars to be notified of the upcoming speed camera.

It is unknown whether the sign was placed there prior to the parked cars arriving, or the opposite way around, however, many were angry at the set-up.

Ongoing issue on busy Sydney highway

The driver posted an anonymous video online to warn drivers and one Aussie suggested he should have taken it a step further by moving the sign "out on the road" to notify passing motorists, while several urged him to report the worker in the speed detection vehicle.

Others said they have spotted a similar set-up while driving around the roads of western Sydney.

Yahoo News last November reported complaints about a speed camera warning sign placed beside parked cars in this same spot on the Great Western Highway. Transport for NSW said on that occasion the speed camera operator was packing up, and no fines were given out as a result of the warning sign being hidden behind parked cars.

"The NSW Government is committed to ensuring mobile speed camera (MSC) signage is visible to motorists to provide a warning, and allow motorists to adjust their behaviour," a Transport for NSW spokesperson previously told Yahoo News Australia.

NSW is one of the few states which warn drivers they are approaching a speed camera, with motorists in other locations in the country not given the same heads up.

NSW drivers get more warning than any other state

By law NSW drivers are required to be warned prior to passing a speed camera, regardless if it is a fixed or mobile one, making it the most visible and transparent programs in the country. Drivers pass three warning signs before reaching a speed camera.

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In comparison, Queenslanders are notified by only one warning sign for fixed speed cameras but none for mobile cameras while drivers in Victoria and Western Australia have none.

Western Australian authorities have even gone as far as making any makeshift warning signs illegal after vigilantes were reportedly found placing warning signs ahead of speed cameras several years ago. Drivers who flash their headlights to indicate a police car or speed camera is ahead to fellow drivers also cop the risk of a $162 fine, according to drive.com.au.

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