Current focus of point-to-point cameras in NSW called into question by trucking body
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has urged the New South Wales government to extend the use of point-to-point speed cameras to all commuters.
Currently only targeting heavy duty operators, the industry body says the point-to-point camera monitoring program in the state isn’t being used to improve safety as effectively as it could be.
“The principal aim of installing point-to-point speed cameras is to improve road safety for all, yet NSW remains the only state that does not apply this technology on cars as well as trucks,”
ATA chair Noelene Watson says.
“The current system only targets drivers of heavy vehicles when the bulk of the traffic in NSW comes from drivers of cars.”
Appealing to the NSW premier Mike Baird in writing ahead of a gathering of transport ministers in Perth today, where road safety is high on the agenda, Watson says with accidents often caused by those not driving the heavy vehicle, an overall road toll decrease could be found with an even playing field.
“Independent research and statistical evidence shows more than eighty percent of fatal multi-vehicle crashes that involve heavy vehicles, are the fault of the other driver,” she says.
“The ATA believes the most effective implementation for this technology would be to expand the point-to-point speed checking program to target every motorist for not complying with the posted speed limits.
“Applying the point-to-point speed checks to all motor vehicles could potentially lift road safety for vulnerable road users such as motor cyclists, pedestrians and cyclists too.”
Should the role of point-to-point speed cameras be to save lives rather than raise revenue, Watson believes “the general public will accept the extension of this technology”.