Skip to main content

Canberra's speed cameras to be reviewed

Road safety researchers from the University of New South Wales Transport and Road Safety Research are to review Canberra's speed cameras to determine how effective they are at preventing accidents. The capital's fixed-speed cameras have come under fire since it was revealed there has been an increase in accidents at intersections where the cameras are installed. The location of point-to-point cameras has also been criticised. The territory has 33 safety cameras, made up of fixed-speed cameras, red lig
March 11, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Road safety researchers from the University of New South Wales Transport and Road Safety Research are to review Canberra's speed cameras to determine how effective they are at preventing accidents.

The capital's fixed-speed cameras have come under fire since it was revealed there has been an increase in accidents at intersections where the cameras are installed. The location of point-to-point cameras has also been criticised.

The territory has 33 safety cameras, made up of fixed-speed cameras, red light/speed cameras, mobile camera vans and two point-to-point units.

The researchers will undertake a broad evaluation of the program including its impact on crashes and speeding, as well as how it is governed. Professor Ann Williamson says the study will consider how the system can be improved.

"Our brief is to look at the effectiveness of it. Obviously the most direct effect is to slow people down and the secondary effect therefore as a result of that, is reducing crashes and injury, which of course is the ultimate aim," she said.

"We will look at where they're deployed and whether the ACT is getting the most effective use out of the technology."

Attorney-General Simon Corbell says the cameras have been in use for more than ten years and this is the first large-scale review of the system.  "As part of the evaluation, the University of New South Wales will review existing Australian and international research as well as evaluations of other road safety camera programs to assist in identifying opportunities for improved strategic and operational management of the ACT program," he said.

Related Content

  • November 23, 2022
    Last call for Canberra drivers
    Australian capital aims to crack down on motorists using their phones at the wheel
  • March 15, 2022
    Innovia & The Ray feel the pulse
    Getting drivers to slow down and space themselves safely on the road is a problem – but a collaboration between Innovia Technology and The Ray may have found a new way to do it
  • September 2, 2015
    Speed cameras yield long-term safety benefits, IIHS study shows
    A speed-camera program in a large community near Washington, DC, has led to long-term changes in driver behaviour and substantial reductions in deaths and injuries, a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows. Automated speed enforcement is gradually becoming more common around the country but remains relatively rare, with only 138 jurisdictions operating such programs as of last month. According to IIHS, if all US communities had speed-camera programs like the one IIHS studied in
  • April 2, 2013
    Australia’s NRMA welcomes road safety funding boost
    Australia’s National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) has praised the New South Wales (NSW) government's plan to use revenue raised by speed cameras to help boost funding for road safety programs by US$7.3 million. The new Safer Roads Program is part of the Centre for Road Safety's state-wide strategy aimed at cutting the state's road toll by thirty per cent by 2021. The additional funds will see a total of US$37.6 million a year spent on works in areas where the worst crashes are occurring, with the