By Joanna Catalano
Two of Wyndham’s fixed speed cameras have already netted nearly $1.7 million in fines so far this financial year.
Figures from the state government’s Cameras Save Lives website reveal the road safety cameras in Wyndham – all on the Princes Freeway – are among the most profitable in the state.
A total of 3850 drivers heading towards Geelong were caught by the camera under the Forsyth Road bridge in Point Cook, bringing in $910,827 from July to September last year.
In the same period, another freeway camera, at Point Wilson Road in Little River, snapped 3107 speeding Melbourne-bound drivers, adding up to $780,601 in fines.
Both of these locations placed in the top-10 road safety cameras for infringements issued in Victoria for the July to September quarter.
A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesperson said the number of motorists speeding is alarming.
“While there has been a drop in infringements at these two locations compared to the previous quarter, it’s disappointing that almost 7000 motorists were caught breaking the law,” the spokesperson said.
“On average, that’s around 76 motorists every day – at these two locations alone – willing to put lives at risk and risk causing serious injuries to themselves or others.”
The six cameras that make up the Geelong Road camera system nabbed 19,983 speeding incidents for July to September 2018 for a total of $4,814,518 in fines. For the same time period in 2017 there were 13,981 fines issued from the same system for a total fine value of $3,397,830.
In 2017, 4311 drivers heading towards Geelong were caught by the camera under the Forsyth Road bridge in Point Cook and 2379 at Point Wilson Road in Little River.
“Speeding directly contributes to at least 30 per cent of deaths on Victoria’s roads each year, which is why we strictly enforce speed limits,” the department spokesperson said.
“Speed cameras are critical to changing driver behaviour and keeping people safe.”
