Comment on ‘Something doesn’t add up’: the small Queensland town united in its fight against speed camera fines
Zagorath@aussie.zone 11 months ago
a mobile speed camera temporarily installed on a rural road led to at least 589 fines being issued in a town of just 811 households.
Gods that data is appalling. Is it really likely that that rate speeding is really going on? Especially after the first few days once the locals are familiar with the placement of the camera and won’t be caught unawares.
As she drove past, she said an electronic speed-monitoring sign on the side of the road lit up green with a smile, indicating it believed she was going under the limit of 60km/h.
Weeks later, she discovered the camera disagreed. That was one of nine fines issued to her car between 15 and 20 September. All of them arrived the same day.
The fact that the fines take weeks to show up and you can be driving the same stretch of road that entire time, getting a fine every single day, is appalling. All but one fine per person should be thrown out on that basis alone.
The fact that their Speed Awareness Monitor thinks they were doing the right speed is also particularly bad. It seems likely to be the best evidence that this camera was just miscalbibrated and all its fines should be scrapped. But even if the camera was calibrated correctly and it’s the SAM that’s wrong, the fact that the SAM told drivers they’re going the right speed should be ground enough for aquital, in my opinion. They were given clearance and told they were doing the right thing.
It’s like if a Council officer pilut on high vis and started controlling a signalised intersection, instructing drivers to ignore the traffic lights. It doesn’t matter that that officer might not have the appropriate training or authorisation to be doing what he was doing. Drivers shouldn’t be given a red light fine for going when someone who appeared authoritative said they should go.
Gods that data is appalling. Is it really likely that that rate speeding is really going on? Especially after the first few days once the locals are familiar with the placement of the camera and won’t be caught unawares.
I bet none of those fines were locals. It’s a major highway and the locals know the speed limit and how heavily it is enforced.
Despite the example you gave - almost none of those fines would have been locals.
I thought about that, but the fact is that the way the article presents it gives us no reason to believe that’s the case.
It’s a major interstate route…
If it were a major interstate route, it would have a name, instead of being called Small Town-Smaller Town Rd (Malanda-Atherton Rd). It also wouldn’t be 250km north of the last major route to the NT (Flinders Hwy) or 20km west of the road to Cairns (Bruce Hwy). Your claim is completely untrue.
If it were a major interstate route, it would have a name
It’s effectively part of National Route 1 - the highway route that goes around the coast through every coastal city on mainland Australia.
It’s not officially part of it, but Route 1 has a bridge that was partially closed three years ago — reduced to one way traffic with lights on either end, and load limits that block it from being used by heavy vehicles. It doesn’t seem like the bridge is going to be fixed - they’re likely to move the highway instead. In the mean time (and possibly permanently), Atherton-Malanda Rd is the detour for most of the traffic that used to take National Route 1.
LemmysMum@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Why is she trusting a speed detection sign in the first place, she had a speedometer that has a guaranteed margin of error in all cars older than 2004, and a legal requirement to never show above the actual travel speed. It sounds like a cop out, either the camera was not functioning properly or these people are just country lead foots. Given that I only need to go 15 mins out of the city to see people drive significantly over the limits with regularity. Wouldn’t surprise me if half these folks have never even looked down below the dash what with keeping an eye out for pigs and roos.
SoylentBlake@lemm.ee 11 months ago
a guaranteed margin of error in all cars older than 2004
Is there no guarantee from 2005 on? Am I missing a memo here?
LemmysMum@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I misstyped. It’s supposed to be younger not older. Older cars are still required to show the correct speed however in 2004 manufacturers started putting in a 3-10 km/h ‘buffer’.
Cars manufactured before 2004 will generally have a very exact speedo that has the potential to be over the travelling speed under certain circumstances, eg bigger wheels than intented for the vehicle, overinflated tires, etc.
After 2004 manufacturer’s started putting in a ‘buffer’ of anywhere between 4 to 10 km/h due to new regulation preventing the previously mention situation.
For example a Taraga people mover can be anywhere from 7 to 10km under the displayed speed, Camry hybrids are almost always about 4km/h slower than their shown speed, Prius are mostly 5km/h slower on the dot.
Experience: Few years as a taxi driver.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 11 months ago
Very old cars have a margin of error on both directions. Newer cars are allowed zero margin for error on reading low but some margin for reading high (i.e., you are guaranteed to actually be going at the speed recorded or lower—you can never be speeding if your speedo says you’re under the limit).