OZschwitz slave pen: Cameras to crack down on truckies

SPEED cameras that catch drivers by monitoring their time over long routes will be used against trucks in a measure secretly endorsed by the NSW cabinet last week.

In a move that could be extended to private vehicles, the statewide network of Safe-T-Cams will be used to fine truck drivers who pass camera points within the minimum journey time.

The Minister for Roads, Michael Daley, declined to say when the point-to-point speed cameras would come into use.

"While we know most operators do the right thing, point-to-point speed cameras would help stop unscrupulous heavy-vehicle operators from forcing their drivers to speed by placing unreasonable deadlines on them," he told the Herald.

"Point-to-point speed cameras are just one possible way of slowing down trucks on our rural and regional roads. Road safety experts have long advocated their use."

But the Herald understands the technology, already installed on the Safe-T-Cam network, automatically identifies all vehicles that have travelled faster between two camera points than the speed limit allows.

This means the State Government will be forced to ignore evidence against thousands of speeding motorists to target truck drivers specifically.

In Victoria, point-to-point speed cameras, as well as covert mobile speed cameras, are in place as a deterrent against long-distance speeding.

But a senior source said the NSW Government would rule out using the measure on private motorists.

The Roads and Traffic Authority has lobbied for years to introduce the point-to-point scheme. Safe-T-Cams were introduced in 1995 to encourage behavioural change "by building profiles of heavy vehicle operators and drivers" through the collation of data on the incidence of speed and fatigue on key routes.

In 2005 it spent $1.6 million upgrading 24 Safe-T-Cams on highways such as the Pacific, Newell and Hume to trial new technology which automatically identifies speeding drivers.

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OZschwitz slave pen: Cameras to crack down on truckies

OZschwitz slave pen: Cameras to crack down on truckies

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