Average-speed cameras to be turned on for cars, as well as trucks

Average-speed cameras used to monitor heavy vehicle drivers will be turned on for cars as the Minns government tries to bring down the state’s soaring road toll. FULL LIST OF LOCATIONS.

Controversial “point-to-point” speed cameras are set to be turned on for cars as the Minns government resorts to radical measures to bring down the soaring road toll.

We can reveal the government will introduce legislation to enable the change of use to occur, in one of the most significant shifts in road safety policy in years.

While the cameras – which calculate average speed – already record trucks at 37 locations across NSW, the trial for cars will be limited to two of the state’s most notorious highways.

The move is expected to trigger vigorous debate, with previous governments resisting calls for the cameras to be used for light vehicles.

The NSW Nationals have also been vehemently opposed to average-speed cameras being used for cars, given the majority are in regional seats.

The state government is hoping its average-speed camera trial on the Pacific Highway north of Port Macquarie will reduce the road trauma toll.

But with 227 road fatalities for the year as at Thursday, Roads Minister John Graham said it was time to step it up.

“NSW is the only jurisdiction in the world to use average-speed cameras, but restrict their use to heavy vehicles only,” he said.

“In the context of a rising road toll, now is the time to trial these cameras for light vehicles, and understand if we can keep more people safe on the road more of the time.

“All other mainland Australian states and countries like the UK, Norway, Italy and the Netherlands have found average-speed cameras to be effective, and we aim to be as rigorous as possible to be sure they will also reduce road trauma in NSW.”

A 15km section of the Pacific Highway between Kew and Lake Innes at Port Macquarie, and a 16km part of the Hume Highway between Coolac and Gundagai will be the first sites to be trialled.

The two sites were chosen based on several factors, including known crash history, with a combined total of six fatalities and 33 serious injuries between 2018 and 2022.

The trial will assess whether the cameras reduce speeding, improve safety and prevent injuries and fatalities, with the NRMA to be part of the assessment process.

NSW remains the sole mainland state not to use average speed cameras for light vehicles as part of a speed enforcement program.

The trial will include an awareness campaign, with motorists given a 60-day grace period during which warning letters instead of fines will be issued, and road signs alerting drivers that their speed is being monitored.

Average speed cameras are located in 37 locations across the state, although six in Sydney are yet to “go live”.

Roads Minister John Graham wants to stop the soaring road toll. Picture: Nikki Short

Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison. Picture: Joel Carrett

The distances between the cameras differ across NSW, with the longest between two points being a 94km stretch on the Newall Highway, and the shortest being 1km in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, which is yet to go live.

Despite regional NSW being home to one third of the state’s population, two-thirds of all road deaths happen in the bush.

Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said the goal of the trial was to assess how effective the cameras were in changing speeding habits.

“The trial of the average-speed cameras for light vehicles is about encouraging all drivers, regardless of the size of their vehicle, to rethink their attitudes to speeding on our roads and change their behaviour,” she said.

In 2018, beloved grandpa Paul Sinclair was killed in a horrific crash in a “known accident spot” on the Hume Highway near Gundagai.

Jefin John, a 23-year-old church minister, was killed just 10 minutes further along the highway in August last year, after colliding with a truck.

In 2021, truck driver Jo Mills was killed on the notorious stretch of the Pacific Highway between Kew and Lake Innes. She and another truck collided, killing the driver of the other vehicle, a 52-year-old man, on impact.

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Originally published as Average-speed cameras to be turned on for cars, as well as trucks