The real cost of terrible behaviour on our roads

FEW things get motorists more animated than talk about the proliferation of cameras watching their every move – and the escalating fines for those caught doing the wrong thing. Are the cameras – which capture speeding, failure to stop at red lights, and mobile phone and seatbelt offences – an act of revenue raising by the state government, as many contend, or a vital safety measure?

The government has not helped its case that revenue is the least of its motivations by raising fines to eyewatering levels.

We can all agree that failure to wear a seatbelt properly is beyond foolhardy, but fining drivers $1078 for an offence committed by their passenger appears harsh, especially when such fines are applied to people on low incomes.

On the other hand, the Transport Department’s latest initiative – concealing speed cameras in the flashing lights signs at school zones – looks like an act of genius. Zero sympathy can be afforded to anyone caught speeding in these areas.

The trouble for all of us, though, is that the increased surveillance and penalties has not led to a reduction in the number of serious accidents on our roads.

Queensland last year recorded 299 fatalities from such accidents – the highest in more than a decade, and the worst in the nation.

The real problem is that, through a mindless impatience, too many people continue to take thoroughly unnecessary risks – tailgating, performing unsafe overtaking manoeuvres, or weaving at high speed through traffic on motorbikes.

Not all of this ridiculous behaviour can be easily monitored by cameras.

But all too often the consequences are far more costly than any fine authorities might conceive.