Hi OzBargainers,
I use the freeway daily to get to and from work, and I always see people speeding through the cameras at above 100kmph. Some drivers are well above 100kmph. I'm aware that speedometers are calibrated to be about ~10% less than actual speed, but it seems as if these drivers are going at least 105+. I see it on a daily basis. Surely these drivers are caught and penalised, or are the freeway cameras turned on and off at certain times? It confuses me because I thought they were turned on 24/7 to catch drivers exceeding the speed limit of 100kmph.
This is a genuine question by the way. I'm just curious if these people actually get penalised or not.
I'll always remember that when they first built the freeway from Sydney down to Wollongong the overhead gantries told you if you were over the limit, and what speed you were actually doing. So everyone competed to get the highest reading displayed. They pretty quickly had to fix that.
I believe in Victoria they use to helpfully tell you what speed you were actually doing so you knew if you speedo was inaccurate. Do they still do that?
In any case, its usual practice in each state for the different speed detection devices - mobile devices, fixed cameras, and point to point systems - to be operated by different arms of government, and they don't always have the same policy on how far you've got to be over the posted limit to be booked. In Victoria there's a correction factor for the accuracy of the speed measuring device. And an enforcement margin, which is how far the reading, after its been corrected, has to be over the posted limit before you are booked. In NSW there used to be a 10% enforcement margin. In SA the police commission said he had reduced it from 7 km/h, but wouldn't say what it was because that just encouraged drivers to speed by that much.
And you're comparing that to your car's speedo reading, which at best is spot on, and at worst can be reading quite a few percent high. And you don't know which unless you you've calibrated with GPS.