Revenue grabbers

[Rosy]

There's been a 4wd parked up and down the highway here quite a lot recently. My husband spoke to the person, and he's a retired professional who's now employed to spend his days on the highway nabbing speeding motorists.

There is no visible camera and the first people would be aware was when their speeding ticket arrived in the mail.

I don't mind police cars doing it, in fact I'm glad to see them with cars pulled over cos traffic on this highway is crazy, but the unmarked private car makes me really angry.

IMO that's just revenue raising and wouldn't act as a deterrent in any way.

I've never considered flashing my lights to alert oncoming cars to police hiding in the bushes but I'm slightly tempted to let people know about this car. I wouldn't cos I hope those who are fined would maybe think twice about speeding next time they're up here, but I think a marked car would be a far greater deterrent in the immediate term...and as such possibly help to reduce the road toll.

Does anyone here flash? ;D

 

[Knighter]

Does anyone here flash? ;D

Not since the restraining order..........

 

[an_oxford_man]

I think it is a great way to raise revenue. If hundreds of dollars in speeding finds doesn't deter you from speeding you have too much money.

 

[tigersnake]

you beat me to it Gypsy. I thought I'd be alone on this one. I reckon an ever-present hidden threat of being fined is far more effective deterent than just staying on the lookout for cop cars. I'm a bit of a leadfoot, wish I wasn't, I hate fines. But speed does kill. If you don't want to get fined, stay under the limit.

I will say theough that fines should be on a sliding scale depending on what car you're driving. Eg somebody in a new Aston Martin coupe gets a $500 buck fine, while a single mum in a old Hyundai Excell with baby in the back get $20.

 

[an_oxford_man]

you beat me to it Gypsy. I thought I'd be alone on this one. I reckon an ever-present hidden threat of being fined is far more effective deterent than just staying on the lookout for cop cars. I'm a bit of a leadfoot, wish I wasn't, I hate fines. But speed does kill. If you don't want to get fined, stay under the limit.

I will say theough that fines should be on a sliding scale depending on what car you're driving. Eg somebody in a new Aston Martin coupe gets a $500 buck fine, while a single mum in a old Hyundai Excell with baby in the back get $20.

I drive an 88 Camry Station Wagon... Loving your system, TigerSnake.

 

[kb7882]

I will say theough that fines should be on a sliding scale depending on what car you're driving.  Eg somebody in a new Aston Martin coupe gets a $500 buck fine, while a single mum in a old Hyundai Excell with baby in the back get $20.

If you have a passenger the fine should be double.

If it's a baby it should be triple  

 

[Rosy]

You can see the traffic slow down with the presence of police cars on this highway, and it stays slowed down.  Something looking like a farmers vehicle isn't going to slow down the general traffic and considering this is a tourist district a lot of them might not return that often anyway.

I'm concerned about the different trend.  When I tell people where we come from the most comon reply is "I know that area it's riddled with traffic police".  Now they're rarely seen.

There are way too many accidents here and most caused by speed and lack of concentration and we need to slow down more than the few who get hit in the hip pocket if they happen to be over the limit on one particular kilmometer stretch.

 

 

[Rosy]

I will say theough that fines should be on a sliding scale depending on what car you're driving.  Eg somebody in a new Aston Martin coupe gets a $500 buck fine, while a single mum in a old Hyundai Excell with baby in the back get $20.

Are you serious ts? Speeding is speeding no matter what kind of car and it makes me furious that people risk other's lives. I'd hope the single Mum would cop the same fine plus a decent lecture on her responsibility to her child.

 

[Scoop]

I think Flashing the ligghts is a good thing. Stops people speeding and keeps money in the pocket. If you flash some one they always slow down. Flashing is more of a human touch like helping out a stranger. It's good for the commnity.

 

[jb03]

The perception of speed cameras as a simple means of revenue raising is because they more often than not put them in low crash risk locations where the speed limit set is unreasonably low and the margin is low.  THere is now often one near my home at the bottom of a 60 km/h hill where it is very difficult to actually drive under 60 km/h.  I have not seen an accident there in 20 years, even long before speed cameras were so omnipresent.

I will say theough that fines should be on a sliding scale depending on what car you're driving.  Eg somebody in a new Aston Martin coupe gets a $500 buck fine, while a single mum in a old Hyundai Excell with baby in the back get $20.

Are you serious ts? Speeding is speeding no matter what kind of car and it makes me furious that people risk other's lives. I'd hope the single Mum would cop the same fine plus a decent lecture on her responsibility to her child.

Agree with Rosy here.  If anything, the fine should be greater for an older, or less reliable car.

 

[mb64]

Steve Bracks = High tax.The speed cameras are revenue grabbers.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Steve Bracks = High tax.The speed cameras are revenue grabbers.

The answers pretty simple really. Don't speed, don't pay.

 

[mb64]

Steve Bracks = High tax.The speed cameras are revenue grabbers.

The answers pretty simple really. Don't speed, don't pay.

Great theory used by the Bracks govt.Reality is even when your not speeding you can end up with a ticket.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Steve Bracks = High tax.The speed cameras are revenue grabbers.

The answers pretty simple really. Don't speed, don't pay.

Reality is even when your not speeding you can end up with a ticket.

How so?

 

[tigersnake]

I will say theough that fines should be on a sliding scale depending on what car you're driving.  Eg somebody in a new Aston Martin coupe gets a $500 buck fine, while a single mum in a old Hyundai Excell with baby in the back get $20.

Are you serious ts?  Speeding is speeding no matter what kind of car and it makes me furious that people risk other's lives.  I'd hope the single Mum would cop the same fine plus a decent lecture on her responsibility to her child.

It was a half joke post, but I actually do mean it.  A fine is a means of providing a disincentive to doing a certain act.  In this case speeding, which is dangerous and can cause great harm to life and limb.  SO, if you fine somebody, say, $200 who earns, say, $300K per year, the fine means nothing.  Points will have an impact but a fine wont.  Whereas a person on a basic wage with a family to support, $200 is too much, its crippling for a fortnight.

Put it another way, if you get caught doing 130 in a 100 zone, you get fined 25% of you wage for the week.  I'd like to see that, but I guess I have a dirty rotten pinko streak in me, in spite of my capitalist tendencies.

 

[the golden]

There's been a 4wd parked up and down the highway here quite a lot recently.  My husband spoke to the person, and he's a retired professional who's now employed to spend his days on the highway nabbing speeding motorists. 

There is no visible camera and the first people would be aware was when their speeding ticket arrived in the mail.

I don't mind police cars doing it, in fact I'm glad to see them with cars pulled over cos traffic on this highway is crazy, but the unmarked private car makes me really angry.

IMO that's just revenue raising and wouldn't act as a deterrent in any way.

I've never considered flashing my lights to alert oncoming cars to police hiding in the bushes but I'm slightly tempted to let people know about this car.  I wouldn't cos I hope those who are fined would maybe think twice about speeding next time they're up here, but I think a marked car would be a far greater deterrent in the immediate term...and as such possibly help to reduce the road toll.

Does anyone here flash? ;D

i would rather the cops do it as they would give you 5 kms if you are lucky 8km's over unless you are being dangerous,
but the camera gives you only 3km's over .

i do not condone speeding and i hate being tailgted when i am doing the speed limit but 3 km's over and you get booked is stupid.

 

[Lidsand]

dont get me started on this subject.

*smile* speed cameras

 

[mk33]

3km is a small margin as I got done at 64km

Have noticed though the traffic on West gate and from Melbourne to Geelong is slower than it used to be so that can only be good.

 

[johnson2richo2003]

Do i speed?-Yes
Only on non-residential roads.
I dont mind Speed camera,s placed in residential area,s.I mean how would you feel if a child relative of yours is hit by a speeding motorist?
As far as on the open Highway in particular the Hume it should be raised too 120 ;D

 

[Jools]

3km is a small margin as I got done at 64km

Have noticed though the traffic on West gate and from Melbourne to Geelong is slower than it used to be so that can only be good.

The cameras on the Westgate Bridge have been on for few months, and the ones on the freeway to Geelong have just been turned on recently too. Regular travellers know where the cameras are, and I have noticed that most are travelling at or under the speed limit when passing them, but not necessarily when clear. Traffic on the bridge is rarely over the limit though, which is a good thing when there are plenty of large trucks on it. The real trap is keeping an eye on those variable limits, because you get fined according to breaking those limits. 3kmh over the limit is such a small margin for error, especially in heavy traffic when you need to be watching everything around you rather than the speedo.
I'm of the mind that I don't want to hand over money in speeding fines. Haven't had one for about 6 or 7 years, touch wood.