NSW reintroduces mobile speed camera warning signs

Around 1000 mobile speed camera warning signs will be reinstated in parts of NSW just nine months after the government’s decision to remove them.

The NSW Government has announced it will reintroduce mobile speed camera warning signs after removing them in late 2020.

Andrew Constance, Minister for Transport and Roads, announced yesterday that the government would be installing roughly 1000 permanent, static mobile speed camera warning signs in NSW to supplement 360 existing variable signs.

“[The NSW Government] is rolling out 1000 fixed warning signs for mobile speed cameras to remind drivers they can be caught speeding anywhere, anytime,” Mr Constance said.

Introduced in mid-November 2020, the NSW Government’s changes saw the removal of warning signs and high visibility markings on the mobile speed camera vehicles, combined with additional operating hours and cameras capable of reading speeds in both directions.

Prior to these changes, the practice in NSW was to place warning signs 250 metres and 50m before the location of a mobile speed camera, as well as 50m after the camera. The warning signs also listed the posted speed limit of the road to educate drivers.

The NRMA, which has historically opposed the removal of the warning signs, is supportive of an increased focus on making drivers aware of speed limits across the road network, including at mobile speed camera locations. 

Mobile speed cameras act as an important tool to combat speeding and form part of an overall approach to making roadways safer. Warning and education signs are important tools that encourage better driver behaviour on roadways. The NRMA policy on warning and education signs is consistent across all forms of detection cameras.

Coinciding with the removal of mobile speed camera warning signs last year, the threshold for fineable speeding offences was dropped to include speeds at less than 10km/h over the limit.

In June this year, 22,000 fines were issued for speeding offences caught by mobile speed cameras, totalling approximately $5m. This represents a tenfold increase in June 2020 numbers, which saw 2300 drivers fined to the sum of $453,000.

The 1000 permanent signs announced today by the NSW Government will be placed in areas and on routes where mobile speed cameras are permitted to operate, providing a 24/7 reminder for drivers to adhere to speed limits.

Making sure drivers slow down – particularly in areas where there is a demonstrated history of crashes – is critical in helping to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on roadways.