Perth - WA The $3m freeway speed camera cash cows
CASH COWS: The location of WA's most lucrative speed cameras. Source: PerthNow
LEADFOOTS beware - this is the stretch of road that has siphoned $3 million from motorists' pockets into State Government coffers.
Temporary speed cameras at Kwinana Freeway near Mill Point Rd in South Perth proved to be a cash cow, snaring 20,283 speedsters and $3,027,300 in infringement fines at two locations in the 2010-2011 financial year.
Another $2 million was reaped from 8845 speeding drivers caught on Reid Highway near Mirrabooka Ave, Mirrabooka, and more than $1 million from 7741 speedsters on Graham Farmer Freeway, East Perth.
The South Perth intersection at Canning Highway and Douglas Ave was the most lucrative fixed camera for red-light runners, with 1111 infringements worth almost $200,000 issued.
The Government reaped a $10.5 million windfall from the top 10 speed camera locations and $1.32 million from the 10 most popular intersections for running red lights last financial year.
Opposition police spokeswoman Margaret Quirk said there needed to be rigorous analysis of the figures against road-crash statistics to determine if the speed camera locations were the best sites to stop crashes.
She questioned whether the large number of fines at the two Kwinana Freeway sites and at Reid Highway, Mirrabooka, could be attributed to a lack of signage, with drivers assuming the freeway was 100km/h instead of 80km/h, and the Mirrabooka results were because of reduced speeds during major roadworks.
Police Minister Rob Johnson said he would be "a very happy Road Safety Minister if (the Government) didn't receive 1c from speed cameras" and motorists obeyed speed limits.
"My message to motorists is simple. Speeding fines are a voluntary tax - don't speed and you won't have to pay," Mr Johnson said.
"No one likes to receive a speeding fine, but speed cameras are a proven way to slow motorists, reduce road crashes and save the public and the hospital system hundreds of millions of dollars."
Two-thirds of all revenue from speed and red light cameras goes into the Road Trauma Trust Fund.
From July 1 next year, all speed camera revenue will go into road safety, with significant funding to improve roads, intersections and dangers outside schools.
Mr Johnson urged drivers to take care on the roads this Christmas and New Year holiday season.
"No family should have to go through the trauma of losing a loved one to road trauma during the holiday season, so I urge drivers to please drive safely on our roads this festive season," he said.
"A few seconds of carelessness can lead to a lifetime of heartache it is not worth the risk."
Police withdrew 1117 infringement notices sent to drivers who claimed they were not behind the wheel at the time, but could not nominate the driver last financial year.
Police conducted 29,587 investigations into such claims.
Editor PoliceSpeedCameras.info : The speed limit in this area of the Kwinana Freeway is adequate for peak hour traffic, but for 8.00pm on wards and on weekends, the limit is stupidly slow. Naturally, this is when the speed cameras get setup. People don't obey stupidly low speed limits, and why should they? As long as we have a government in power that will not address these anomalous locations, and as long as we have a police department that will take full advantage of these stupidly low speed limits we will always be paying through the nose. This state government is banking on it!! This is a classic example of how speed cameras are abused in Western Australia. We should have variable speed limits on these freeways. We have the technology in place. Those big electronic display panels must be good for something!