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Victoria's Deputy Police Commissioner for Road Policing Ken Lay Caught Speeding!!!

NSW Police Under Fire for Scarecrow Tactics

What is this, "Stupid Cops Month"? The NSW Police where under attack after it was reported on the Channel 10 news early this month that the New South Wales police were using scarecrow tactics, parking police cars in visible places with "pretendy" police officers inside. Is this the new NSW Road Safety Campaign strategy on a budget? What next police officers with toy guns? (Sorry, the bullets were too expensive.)

Aussie Speed Camera Company against "Open Carry" gun laws in Arizona - Are they making themselves a target?

Redflex, if you didn't know, is an Australian company that has taken the very unpopular Aussie speed cameras to the masses in USA. This company has helped introduce speed cameras in many states and stirred up a hornets nest in others where citizens are very much against the introduction of this type of revenue raising.

Remember this article in April 2009, "USA PHOENIX (AP) A man accused of fatally shooting a Redflex photo radar van operator was charged with first-degree murder Wednesday, and authorities said they believe the killing was premeditated."

It has since been reported on a USA website that the Arizona head office of Redflex has "NO GUNS ALLOWED" signs on all the doors. The article goes on to say that the notice also states that "no employee in the building is armed".

Is it wise when you run a business based on speed cameras that rip money off folks, in a state full of privately owned hand guns, to advertise that your building is full of unarmed defenseless employees?

A similar situation existed in the Westroads Mall in Omaha USA which had a 'No Weapons' policy. One maniac murdered 8 people in a gun rampage there before committing suicide nearly 2yrs ago.

I can foresee some other lunatic "going postal" and taking it out on a building full of unarmed Aussie and American employees because they advertise they are a soft target for speed camera hating rednecks (and I'm probably one of them!). Personally, after one of my employees was shot and killed, I would put up a sign that said "This building is full of armed employees so don't try nothin."

According to the article, the signs that they have placed in the windows and doors are designed for Bar and Tavern laws to keep guns out where people get intoxicated. The sign has no legal standing when used on other premises. You would think they would know the laws of the state.

My thought for the day "Gun Control means using two hands!"

ABC News - New speed and red light cameras have issued almost 6,500 fines in Darwin - the equivalent of about eight per cent of the city's population being ticketed.

Five new speed and red light cameras around Darwin started issuing fines on October 23 last year.

Since then more than 6,500 fines have been issued.

About 3000 of those were for speeding drivers caught by the inbound lane camera on the Stuart Highway at the Ross Smith intersection, with another 700 people caught running the red light at Woolner.

At the other end of the scale, no drivers have been caught speeding in the inbound lane of the Bagot and McMillans Road intersection.

Four new cameras will be switched on along the Stuart Highway, Bagot Road and Trower Road on Monday.

The camera on the inbound lane of Trower Road at the Rapid Creek Road intersection has caught more than 2000 drivers in a five-week trial period.

The Territory's Transport Minister, Gerry McCarthy, says the cameras are not about raising revenue.

"Speed and red light cameras across the greater Darwin area are for a deterrent," he said.

"I don't want to make any money out of this.

"They are there to give the message strong and clear to act responsibly.

"Slow down, don't run red lights and don't put your life or the lives of other Territorians at risk."

WA - "Poliscan Speed" set to Replace Multanova Units

Speed Camera Upgrade Time for NSW - QLD - WA - Who's Next?

NSW - Red Light Cameras to be Updated

By ANDREW WEST TRANSPORT

ALARMED at the steep increase in the state's road toll this year, the NSW Government will replace its network of red light cameras in an effort to catch more reckless and speeding drivers.

The Transport Minister, David Campbell, will today announce that “wet-film” cameras, which require manual loading and development and have been in place for more than 20 years, will be upgraded to digital cameras.

The 200 new cameras will be introduced over the next four years and linked to a central network. Some will also serve as speed cameras.

Click here for camera locations.

“The current 183 red light camera sites are over 20 years old and it is time that they were replaced,” Mr Campbell said.

“The parts are no longer available to service these cameras. This new technology will be placed at intersections with extremely poor crash records. We will be installing these new safety cameras where they are needed most to improve road safety.”

The minister said that with the 2009 road toll now at 415 deaths -94 fatalities up on the 2008 toll - more effective ways of catching reckless drivers were vital.

"The road safety benefit of red-light cameras is a reduction in the number of right angle crashes which are also known as 'T-bone crashes'," he said.

"Speeding through a red light is one of the most dangerous things you can do on our roads and the consequences for yourself and innocent motorists could be deadly.''

He said that at sites where cameras had been installed, police had recorded falls of up to 70 per cent in dangerous driving.

The Roads and Traffic Authority, which be responsible for the new technology, will activate combined red light and speed cameras at four permanent sites, while another five dual-use cameras will be rotated through 25 other locations across NSW.

“The aim is to change driver behaviour, ensuring motorists slow down and obey red lights at intersections,” Mr Campbell said.

The Government will install the first 50 of new cameras over the next six months at locations with poor crash histories, including the intersections of Botany Road and Bourke Road, Alexandria; New Narellan Road and Kellicar Road at Campbelltown; Canterbury Road and King Georges Road, Lakemba; George Street and Liverpool Street in the City; and the Great Western Highway and Hawkesbury Road at Mays Hill.

The first of the new cameras will be running by late December, in time for the holidays.

Brisbane's New Tunnel to have 8 Speed Cameras 25th Nov 2009

BRISBANE'S new cross-river tunnel will be lined with eight fixed speed cameras over its 6.8km length.

The tunnel will account for almost half of the fixed speed camera sites across the entire state once it is operational.

Motoring groups said it was a case of ''gross overkill'' and accused the State Government of contradicting its own camera policy, insisting locations were supposed to be chosen on historical crash data.

Police Minister Neil Roberts yesterday said the cameras would help enforce the 80km/h speed limit and reduce the significant speed-related crash risks a tunnel posed.

''Crashes in tunnels have the potential to be particularly hazardous due to the enclosed nature of the environment,'' Mr Roberts said. ''Fixed speed cameras have been proven to raise drivers' awareness of speed limits and ultimately slow motorists down.''

However, RACQ spokeswoman Lynda Schekoske said the motoring group supported cameras only where there was a significant crash history.

''Eight cameras in six or so kilometres seems somewhat excessive,'' she said. ''We would certainly think that having cameras there for enforcement reasons from the outset would not be very appropriate.''

The move is likely to provide a new revenue bounty for the cash-strapped Government, with about 4000 drivers a month caught at the state's first three fixed camera sites last year.

Mr Roberts said the Clem7 cameras would be placed in four locations in pairs and on each side of the road and would be clearly signed, like the state's nine above-ground cameras. Only six of those above-ground cameras are operational but the other three will be brought online in coming weeks.

The tunnel cameras will be digital, unlike the previous wet film models.

QUT Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety researcher Mark King yesterday said while the move was unusual, the cameras were appropriate given the unique nature of the tunnel.

''We have had some high-profile nasty crashes in tunnels and when it does happen, it can be quite bad,'' he said.

The tunnel, linking Bowen Hills north of the Brisbane CBD to Woolloongabba in the south, is expected to open in the first few months of next year.

The cameras will mean a driver could lose their licence and cop an $800 fine in a matter of minutes if they drove through the four sites at 93km/h.

National Motorists Association Australia (NMAA) spokesman Michael Lane, a fierce critic of speed cameras, said the tunnel plan was ridiculous.

''It's gross overkill,'' he said. ''I assume it's a reasonably straight tunnel. You don't need four in each direction. That is a ridiculous waste of money.

''What if someone goes through there and their speedometer is faulty, they get four tickets and they lose their licence?''

But late today, a spokesman for Police Minister Neil Roberts' office clarified that, at worst, a speeding motorist could be hit with two tickets.

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