RTA bolsters speed camera numbers

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/rta-bolsters-speed-camera-numbers/2246067.aspx?src=rss

RTA bolsters speed camera numbers.....Each camera cost $200,000 to install.


The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority has installed five new speed cameras at some of the Illawarra's busiest intersections, boosting the total number of the devices in the area to 13.
A week after a Fairy Meadow camera was switched off because it was found to have no impact on safety, the RTA yesterday confirmed it had spent $1 million on five new "safety cameras" at high-profile locations in Wollongong, Unanderra, Figtree and Windang.

The cameras will capture images of speeding drivers and cars running red lights.

They will not issue infringement notices until a government-ordered review determines they were not installed as revenue-raising exercises.

If they are given the green light to issue fines, the five cameras could be a lucrative source of income for the State Government, with thousands of cars negotiating the intersections each day.

An RTA spokeswoman said the new cameras would improve road safety by reducing the number and severity of crashes.

She said each site was selected because of the high number of recorded accidents.

The cameras have different signage to traditional fixed speed cameras and only declare there is a "safety camera ahead". They do not display the speed limit.

Last week, an infamous Balgownie Rd speed camera at Fairy Meadow was permanently switched off after Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat identified it as one of 38 across the state having no real impact on safety.

Close to $1.5 million in fines was collected last financial year from Illawarra speed cameras. The most active, monitoring north-bound traffic on the F6 at Gwynneville, reaped $500,000.

Nearly 10,000 motorists were fined by nine fixed speed cameras.

The new safety cameras are located at the corner of the Princes Hwy and Gladstone Ave, Wollongong; Princes Hwy and Five Islands Rd, Unanderra; Corrimal St and Burelli St, Wollongong; Princes Hwy and O'Briens Rd, Figtree; and Windang Rd and Boronia Ave, Windang.

Each camera cost $200,000 to install.