NSW Roads minister John Graham says studies from around the world show that using average speed enforcement cameras for all vehicles reduces the road toll. Photo: NSW Legislative Council.
The NSW Government will flick the switch to activate two sets of average speed cameras in regional NSW on 1 May 2025.
A pair of cameras will be installed at two points on the Hume Highway on a 16 km stretch of road between Coolac and Gundagai; and also at two points on a 15 km stretch of the Pacific Highway between Kew and Lake Innes.
The aim is to track a vehicle’s speed over this distance, with drivers to be fined if their average speed between the points exceeds the limit.
NSW already has cameras that track the average speeds for trucks, but this is the first time they’ll be used for light vehicles.
The so-called ‘trial’ arrangement will have a two-month warning letter period for light vehicle drivers caught speeding on both lengths of road before it is switched to full enforcement mode. From 1 July, those detected speeding will face fines and demerit point penalties. The trial will not affect the enforcement of heavy vehicle offences at these sites.
NSW National leader Dugald Saunders has slammed the average speed camera concept as “revenue raising”.
A poll of Region readers that garnered 3500 responses found 79 per cent of respondents agreed with Mr Saunders, with only 21 per cent seeing it as a good initiative to improve road safety.
Mr Saunders argued that regional drivers might sometimes need to speed to “safely” overtake other vehicles on the road (this is not allowed under current NSW road laws).
Former Griffith councillor and traffic guru Simon Croce has also criticised the initiative, calling it “big brother”.
“It won’t be long before you go to visit someone on the coast and you’ll get a letter in the mail saying, ‘We know when you left home, we know when you got there, here is your fine’. It’s not speed that kills, it’s inappropriate speed that kills.”
He says the NSW Government should instead prioritise fixing potholes and ensuring regional roads are safe.
Roads Minister John Graham has defended the use of point-to-point cameras.
“We know that speed remains our biggest killer on the road, contributing to 41 per cent of all fatalities over the past decade,” he said.
“Studies from around the world show that using average speed enforcement cameras for all vehicles reduces the road toll, and road trauma.
“We know the trial will be a change for motorists in NSW, so it will be supported by community and stakeholder communications. All average speed camera locations have warning signs installed.”
The NSW Government says the two stretches have been chosen based on several factors, including known crash history. There were a combined total of six fatalities and 33 serious injuries between 2018 and 2022 at these locations.
The introduction of average speed cameras was recommended by the 2024 NSW Road Safety Forum, which brought together experts from interstate and around the world to devise measures to improve road safety and save lives.
The NSW Government will report back to Parliament on the outcomes of the trial in 2026.
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.
