NSW drivers cop $5.27 million in speeding fines in single month from unmarked cameras

Aussie drivers have been slugged with more than $5.27 million in speeding fines from unmarked cameras in a single month.

NSW drivers have been hit with $5.27 million in speeding fines from unmarked cameras in a single month.

The millions in fines takes the amount of revenue collected from speeding cameras across the state in 2021 to just under $15 million, The Daily Telegraph reports.

It comes with a warning that removing speed camera signs could put regional workers out of a job.

The program to remove the cameras began in December under the direction of NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance.

It January it was revealed the NSW government had increased the amount of revenue raised from speed cameras by almost nine times, compared with the same month last year.

Nationals MP Wes Fang said the decision had hit regional and rural drivers hardest.

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NSW drivers are being slugged with speeding fines at skyrocketing rates.

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“I fear that we are having a detrimental effect on rural and regional families because people are losing their licences and then their livelihoods all to raise more money to prop up the state’s balance sheet,” Mr Fang said.

“Every time we see a speeding fine it’s potentially one more worker whose lost his or her licence, one more family that will be without an income.”

The most recent data shows some 23,143 fines were issued in March 2021, at a cost to motorists of $5.27 million. This is up from 2455 fines in March 2020, when the total cost to motorists was $478,580.

Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Christian Gilles

Mr Constance announced warning signs for speed cameras would be scrapped in the wake of the tragic Oatlands crash, where a driver who was drunk and on drugs mounted a kerb and killed four children.

Mr Constance said at the time the change was about shifting culture and behaviour on the roads.

“We want to make a difference,” he said.

“We can’t keep doing what we’re doing, year in, year out, knowing the impact it has on families, loved ones, children and our community.”

The NSW government said it based the changes on independent modelling from Monash University Accident Research Centre. The modelling suggested the changes could save up to 34 and 43 lives, and prevent up to 600 crashes a year.

A spokesperson from the Department of Transport NSW told news.com.au today the study hasn’t been publicly released, and they couldn’t provide a copy.

In 2021, 94 people have lost their lives on NSW roads. The number is two less than at the same time in 2020.

Originally published as NSW drivers cop $5.27 million in speeding fines in single month from unmarked cameras