Point-to-Point Speed Policing !

When you drive on New South Wales arterial roads you may notice curious gantries with lots of cameras pointing at the traffic passing below.   This is part of the point-to-point speed policing system endorsed some years ago by the National Road Safety Strategy for 2011-20.

The concept is quite simple.  Those cameras record the registration numbers of vehicles passing below and relay them to a central computer.  When the vehicle triggers another camera near the end of the journey an algorithm automatically calculates the time required for the vehicle to travel that distance at the legal speed.  If the vehicle reaches that end too soon, it was because of excess speed - and a fine is soon in the mail.

In all other states this system is already working to record the journey speed of all vehicles using the roads covered.  In New South Wales the point-to-point safety system is restricted to trucks and other heavy vehicles.  Pressure is building to have it apply to cars.

Statistics tell a compelling story.  Forty-one percent of road crashes that result in death or serious injury can be attributed to excessive speed.  Any driver using the arterial road system and who maintains the legal speed is well aware that many cars whiz past at a much higher speed.  The police use radar speed traps to fine errant drivers and try and reduce road trauma.

There is no doubt that if all drivers kept to the posted speed limit we would have fewer crashes, but this point-to-point speed check is not infallible.  New South Wales has twenty-five camera gantries covering 6,500 kilometers of arterial road.   The trucking industry has devised strategies to beat the system.    Those with a need for speed know precisely where these gantries are located - and if they have been speeding - stop for a spell or to have a cup of coffee - to reconcile their arrival at the correct time.

The fact that this system is operating on cars in all other states and not in New South Wales gives an ideal opportunity to evaluate the results.  Unfortunately the road toll in all states continues to increase and it seems that point-to-point speed policing simply becomes another hazard to motorists wallets.

It may also contribute to corruption.  This system records a speeding car, not a speeding driver.  Like red light cameras and roadside speed cameras a conviction depends on the driver of the vehicle identifying themselves.   The use of company vehicles shared by multiple drivers and those with a poor driving record who persuade their spouse to take the blame - and the demerit points -  corrupt the system

It is even possible that applying point-to-point to cars will increase the volume of unregistered and therefore uninsured cars on the road, and the misery that brings to innocent people with whom they collide.   Unpaid fines lead to deregistration and yet many desperate owners continue to drive.

Now that the police have number plate recognition cameras in their patrol cars with the ability to instantly recognise unregistered or reportedly stolen vehicles the crime fraternity has become adept at stealing plates from registered vehicles whose owners are away overseas.   This opens a new avenue of driver accountability.

Applying point-to-point to cars in New South Wales seem inevitable.  The state could well do with the fines bonanza it will bring and even a small increase in the number of drivers obeying the speed limit will be welcome.   Just do not expect the road toll to drop by half  !