The state government has announced that it will implement nineteen new camera traps with number plate reading technology to monitor truck movements.
The plan is simple. Trucks will be monitored twice and the computer will calculate the time elapsed. If that distance covered was impossible without speeding, a fine and loss of demerit points will be in the mail.
The government has stressed that this new system will only apply to trucks. Motorists in cars have nothing to fear and will not be targeted.
This does nothing to change the main reason for truck speeding - unreasonable deadlines imposed on truck drivers !
The system for inducing speeding is carefully crafted. Drivers are given a rate for making the delivery - with bonuses for making it by a certain time. The base rate is low and a decent income can only be attained by attracting the extra bonus money.
If this is not changed and efforts made to stamp out the practice all these cameras will promote will be scams to use false number plates and plate changes between known camera sites.
It is also evident that of the nineteen nominated sites - not one is on the Princes highway.
This busy - neglected - two way road has no rail competition and all goods to the towns between Wollongong and Melbourne travel by truck.
It stands to reason that a road used by tourists gawking at the views and motorists towing caravans will delay trucks trying to make a decent living - and tempt them to overtake in unsafe places because of the lack of passing lanes.
It seems that these camera traps have not been well thought out - and once again the safety of the people of the south coast has been far from the mind's of government planners !
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