Two speed cameras, two days and 302 speeding vehicles
As the transport ministry considers mirroring Sweden’s speed camera strategy, two cameras in the busiest streets in the North and South islands captured 302 speeders in two days. Residents say the cameras have improved safety, but an expert reckons hooning drivers are low hanging fruit. Marty Sharpe reports.
John Heaton has watched cars and truck and trailer units, sometimes as many as six at a time, dash along Oamaru’s Wansbeck St since moving there four and a half years ago.
The 75-year-old retired aircraft loader frequently sees vehicles doing well over 50kmh as they climb or descend the street that makes up part of SH1, as it makes its way south to Dunedin and north to Timaru.
He remembers the new speed camera being put up directly across the street from him in March last year and wondering what difference it would make.
Within months he learned it was the busiest speed camera in the South Island. In the first six months of this year more than 1.2 million vehicles travelled down Wansbeck.
That much didn’t surprise him. But the impact it’s had on speeding has.
‘‘It seems to slow them down. I would say it’s doing a good job, because there are a lot of kids that walk up and down the hill here on the way to school, aged from five onwards,’’ Heaton said.
‘‘Most of the locals seem to know it’s there now. It’s the people going through at night that won’t... who are getting caught,’’ he said. ‘‘We still get the odd hoon. You’ll never get away from them. They move alright, probably 80-100kmh."
There are 48 fixed speed cameras across the country and over the past decade they have caught more than 1.5 million speeding drivers, with fines for just less than $130 million issued.
Sunday Star-Times obtained data from two of the country’s busiest and newest speed cameras, capturing one day on the weekend and one mid-week. The two cameras combined pinged 302 speeding cars in two days, with 83 of them monitored at 66kph or more on the 50kph streets.
On August 17 the camera on Heaton’s Wansbeck St clocked 55 drivers travelling up to and including 15kmh over the 50kmh limit, and 23 travelling at 66kmh or more. On August 22 19 drivers were caught up to or including 15kmh over the limit, and 14 driving 66kmh or faster.
Further north, Auckland’s Hillsborough Rd acts as a gateway from the central city to West Auckland. It’s used by about 15,300 vehicles a day. Data shows that on August 17 the resident speed camera clocked 78 drivers travelling up to and including 15kmh over the 50kmh limit, and 25 driving more than 66kmh.
Five days later, on August 22, it caught 67 motorists driving up to or including 15kmh above the limit, and 21 driving 66kmh or higher.
Suresh Raniga and his family have lived on Hillsborough Rd for 16 years, and says the camera, also erected in March last year, had made a ‘‘big, big difference" and residents were much happier.
‘‘Cars definitely go slower now,’’ he said. ‘‘People used to go past very fast, usually 60-70kmh. It was not safe. We have many people, old and young
schoolchildren who walk around here.’’
Fellow long-time resident Peter Crowley said the camera may have made a difference but it was only there to make money. Unlike Raniga, he didn’t think traffic was that bad, – ‘‘It’s a long, straight, open, clear road. What’s the harm?’’ – but he conceded the road was a popular route for school children and the odd boyracer.
The Ministry of Transport and police have long argued the strengths of speed cameras, and the recent draft road safety strategy Road to Zero has signalled their desire to use more.
Ministry of Transport mobility and safety manager Brent Johnston said New Zealand operated an ‘‘anytime, anywhere’’ approach to speed cameras, without signage.
But improvements are being made and the ministry is considering modelling its approach on Sweden, where there are more cameras per capita than New Zealand (Sweden has about 11 safety cameras per 100,000 population, whereas New Zealand has about 2.2 cameras per 100,000 population.) There, cameras are only used in high-risk areas part of the time, and are clearly marked so drivers slow down – a style that Johnston said had a higher level of public acceptance because it was seen as fairer.
‘‘Most importantly, the Swedish approach to road safety has been successful in reducing deaths and serious injuries.’’
Under consideration by Cabinet is clearly signing cameras so drivers have advanced warning, switching cameras on part time, and rolling out more cameras in high risk areas.
Johnston said the country’s 44 mobile unmarked speed cameras would only be used at specific signed locations under the proposed approach.
Road safety campaigner Clive
Matthew-Wilson, however, questions the efficacy of speed cameras, claiming they have limited value in lowering the road toll. There have been 251 road user deaths this year, including 23 pedestrians and eight cyclists. Last year’s was the worst toll in a decade – 380 deaths.
‘‘Speed cameras slow down the average driver, but the average driver is not the problem. If you look at most of the speedrelated accidents of the last year, they tend to involve drivers who ignore road safety messages and aren’t worried about tickets.’’
In January, three Christchurch teenagers died while being pursued by police. Their stolen car burst into flames after hitting road spikes and crashing.
‘‘Would speed cameras have prevented this accident? Of course not.’’ MatthewWilson said speed cameras should be restricted to high risk areas such as outside schools, otherwise they made ‘‘criminals out of relatively innocent motorists’’. It was a fallacy that speeding drivers were the main cause of the road toll. Figures show speed is a factor in 15 per cent of fatal crashes. (‘‘Almost inevitably caused by yobbos, motorcyclists or blotto drivers.’’) ‘‘Often, speeding is quite innocent. In modern turbocharged cars, as soon as you take your foot off the accelerator, your speed drops right back. As soon as you accelerate, it’s very easy to be over the speed limit in seconds,’’ he said.
He favoured speed indicator signs or clearly marking speed cameras.
‘‘The current speed camera strategy is effectively an ambush that results in lots of tickets but a road toll that keeps on rising.’’
‘‘The current speed camera strategy is effectively an ambush that results in lots of tickets but a road toll that keeps on rising.’’
Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson, right