Queensland’s new school zone sign-mounted speed cameras haven’t been doing their job.
ABC News reports the cameras, which were supposed to be activated at the start of the school year, haven’t recorded any infringement notices to speeders.
Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey says “technical issues” are to blame, and that he was only advised by his department late last week that no fines had been issued.
“Seven months and no fines issued to speeding motorists is not good enough, and that is why I asked my department to address this issue as a matter of urgency,” said Mr Bailey.
The cameras are now expected, pending final testing, to begin issuing infringement notices from August 7.
They were intended to begin operating earlier this year as part of a pilot ending in April 2024.
ABC News reports six speed camera-equipped school zone signs will be rotated through 24 school locations.
The Queensland Government aims to have 15 of the 24 planned sites operational by the end of this month.
It says another four will be set up with the new camera signs by the end of August, with another five to be operational by October after undergoing design changes.
School zones in Queensland have a speed limit of 40km/h if the regular speed limit on said road is between 50 and 70km/h, while roads with higher speed limits see them reduced to 60km/h during school zone times.
The new speed cameras operate only during school zone times, and are activated when a crossing supervisor (aka lollipop lady/man) enters the roadway. They can also monitor and record any traffic incidents and near-hits.
The Government first announced the new cameras last year along with different cameras for road works zones, which in contrast are designed to operate 24 hours a day.
It has also been rolling out new cameras that detect mobile phone usage and seat belt non-usage.
The Queensland Government says “every cent” collected from fines is re-invested into road safety.
This includes funding to improve the safety of the sections of state-controlled roads where the most crashes occur, plus road safety education and road accident injury rehabilitation programs.
Queensland implemented stricter penalties for speeding from July 1, 2022, which included adjusted thresholds.
There’s a $287 fine for exceeding the speed limit by between 1-10km/h, and a $431 fine for exceeding it by 11-20km/h.
These replace a $183 fine for exceeding the speed limit by 1-12km/h, and a $275 fine for exceeding the speed limit by 13-20km/h.
Demerit points remain unchanged at one and three points, respectively.
The other brackets are unchanged, as are the corresponding demerit point amounts, but the penalties are up as follows:
- 21-30km/h: increased from $459 to $646 (four demerit points)
- 31-40km/h: increased from $643 to $1078 (six demerit points)
- Over 40km/h: increased from $1286 to $1653 (eight demerit points, six-month licence suspension)
By 2031, the Queensland Government wants to reduce road fatalities by 50 per cent and serious injuries on the road by 30 per cent.
