Speed cameras in New South Wales

A couple of observations on the use of speed cameras.

I think that everyone will agree that excessive speed is a potential cause of road accidents and therefore should be discouraged. However, I wonder if the methods used are as effective as they could be.

At face value, the system used to punish drivers who speed in New South Wales of issuing fines and demerit points, followed by licence suspension for persistent offenders, is objective and reasonably fair. It is arguably even fairer since 1 July 2009 when the number of demerit points for driving less than 10kmh over the limit was reduced from 3 to 1. 

I accept that there has to be penalties and a reasonable chance of getting caught for any deterrent to be effective. My concern (and I am sure that I am not alone in this) is that avoiding getting caught has become a priority when driving, which could have a negative impact on safety - exactly the opposite of the intended effect.

What I mean by this is that the use of speed cameras has become so prevalent, that a major focus when driving is checking speed limits and the speedometer, rather than observing everything else that is going on. Not all accidents are caused by excessive speed.

I find this a particular problem having arrived from the UK about 16 months ago. In 25 years of driving in the UK, I collected about three speeding fines. Possibly the UK authorities allow a greater margin for error when setting their cameras, but, like all drivers I suspect, I have also developed a reasonable feel for how fast I am going - in miles per hour.

Unfortunately, this sense is patently less effective in Australia due to the speed limits generally being lower and those limits being in kilometres per hour. In fact, it has worked so badly, that I already have as many speeding convictions in Australia as I got in the UK in 1/20th of the time!

I would never suggest that anybody should be entitled to any special treatment, just because they are not used to the local situation. I therefore suggest that anyone arriving from the UK takes more care than I have manged to so far (without forgetting to look where thay are going of course)!