Archive, Industry News

RTA beefs up Safe-T-Cam enforcement

RTA puts more officers on the beat to identify Safe-T-Cam dodgers and will look at technical solutions to improve scheme

By Brad Gardner | October 12, 2010

More roadside enforcement officers will be dispatched to Safe-T-Cam sites in NSW to target truck drivers attempting to dodge the monitoring scheme.

The Roads and Traffic Authority is beefing up its enforcement techniques in response to claims truck drivers are tailgating – known as ‘shepherding’ – to prevent the cameras from detecting their number plates.

The department will also investigate the use of new technology after a NSW parliamentary committee recommended a system that automatically fines trucks for travelling too closely.

“The RTA is currently investigating technical systems to help identify ‘shepherding’ drivers and is deploying RTA inspectors to address the issue in areas where ‘shepherding’ is identified,” a spokesperson for the RTA says.

“The RTA continually looks at improving and enhancing the Safe-T-Cam system.”

Despite recently reviewing the Safe-T-Cam operation, the RTA has not yet publicly released the findings.

The Director of the RTA’s Centre for Road Safety, Dr Soames Job, says there is not much the Safe-T-Cam operation can do to prevent shepherding.

Safe-T-Cam devices are installed on overhead gantries and measure a truck’s speed between two points to determine if the driver has broken speed and fatigue management laws.

A recent academic study supported the greater use of point-to-point technology because drivers slow down when approaching conventional speed cameras and then accelerate once they are out of detection range.

The RTA is also considering a recommendation from the Committee for 100 hours of mandatory refresher training courses for truck drivers every three years.

Previous ArticleNext Article
Send this to a friend