Outrage as motorists caught out by ‘hidden’ Bruce Hwy speed camera

More than 100 angry drivers nabbed by a “hidden” Bruce Hwy speed camera have made official complaints, after some were hit with fines of up to $700.

speeding generic odometer car

Hundreds of people travelling through Central Queensland have received a nasty surprise after being issued with speeding fines in the mail from a Transport and Main Roads (TMR) camera, said to be positioned a short distance from the speed change sign north of Bororen on the Bruce Highway.

Burnett MP Stephen Bennett said of the more than 100 people who had contacted his office had received up to eleven fines, along with multiple points lost on their drivers licences.

He said it appeared to be “trained on cars as they exited the 60 km/h zone out of Bororen, no more than 50m from the 100 km/h sign”.

For Wendy Dwyer, the whopping $700 fine she received in the mail was a shock after 30 years behind the wheel and almost no speeding tickets.

“I had a fine maybe three months ago while borrowing someone’s V8, and I think I was about six kilometres over … I also had one fine maybe 20 years ago, and that may have been my husband’s – I can’t even remember,” she said.

Ms Dwyer said apart from these occasions she had never received even a parking fine or a blood-alcohol content reading, until she received a fine in the mail of $700 and a loss of four demerit points.

“I’ve heard people whine and thought they deserved it. Now I understand,” she said.

“I’m a very conscientious driver and try to instil this in my own children, and if I’m doing the right thing so should the transport department. This is clearly not about safety but rather filling quotas the easiest way.”

A TMR spokesman said the camera at the Bororen site has been rotated.

He said the highest speed clocked was 111 km/h, 51 km/h over the speed limit.

The spokesman said about 13 percent of vehicles were caught speeding, or 6508 detections from 50,181 vehicles.

Mr Bennett said while he would never condone speeding, he felt the TMR camera at Bororen was “at odds” with Queensland Police Service speed compliance, and was unable to apply the same reasonable assessments of speed that a police officer could administer.

QPS officers are required to apply a reasonable assessment of speed. Picture: Generic.

“My office has been inundated with phone calls and emails from at least one hundred people, all indicating that they have received speeding fines from a hidden TMR speed camera located at Bororen,” he said.

Mr Bennett said he had received complaints from people living in Bororen and Miriam Vale who had received multiple fines in one day, and pointed out that the length of time between the offences and the issuing of infringement notices was “considerable”.

“From what we are hearing at my office, local residents and other motorists travelling through the area are now receiving multiple speeding fines in the mail with the unintended consequence that many have multiple fines, some up to ten or eleven fines and associated points loss,” he said.

The spokesman said while they had received inquiries about the speed camera at Bororen, they had not received any formal complaints.

He said motorists that received infringements could contest them in court.

“Motorists should continue to expect to see these bright yellow, highly visible, trailer mounted speed cameras deployed anywhere, at any time to help reduce road trauma in regional areas,” the spokesman said.