ENFORCEMENT

SPEED CAMERAS

Fixed speed cameras are installed at locations that have a history of road crashes, are difficult or unsafe to monitor by other enforcement methods, and where there is a strong crash potential.

A point-to-point (or average) speed camera system uses a number of cameras over a length of road to measure a vehicle’s average speed.

The system uses the time it takes for a vehicle to travel between the two points to calculate the average speed of the vehicle: speed = distance/time.

The point-to-point camera system determines the average speed between the two points and compares this speed to the speed limit of the road to establish if an offence has occurred.

Mobile speed cameras operate at sites that have been approved following a strict selection procedure, which considers:

• the site's history of crashes

• validated complaints about high-risk speeding behaviour

• workplace health and safety issues for roadworkers and police officers operating speed cameras

• that the speed limit for the road has been set in compliance with the state's speed control guidelines.

RED LIGHT CAMERAS

Red light cameras are installed at intersections that have a history of crashes caused by red light running.

The cameras operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A red light camera is activated when the traffic light turns red.

Any vehicle that crosses the stop line and enters the intersection after the light has turned red will be photographed.

After a vehicle is photographed, a second photograph is taken one second later.

The second photograph is used to check whether the vehicle continued through the intersection or stopped just past the STOP line.

There are two types of redlight cameras – red light cameras and combined red light and speed cameras.

Combined red light/speed cameras are placed at signalised intersections and detect both the failure to obey the red traffic signal and speeding.

The speed detection component of the camera can operate on the red, amber and green signal. The camera can detect red light running and speeding at the same time.