New data reveals Melbourne’s most notorious and lucrative speed camera sites
RED light and speeding fines have shot up by almost 70 per cent at one Melbourne intersection — but not for the reason you might think.
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THE NUMBER of speeding and red light fines issued at one notorious intersection has shot up by almost 70 per cent — but that‘s not necessarily due to more dangerous driving.
More than 10,370 fines — or about 112 a day — were slapped on motorists at the intersection of Batesford and Warrigal roads in Chadstone between October and December last year, up from 6210 the previous quarter.
Overall red light and speeding offences were up 24.3 per cent in Victoria, the latest figures show.
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But the Department of Justice and Regulation said the general increase in fines may be due to many cameras being switched off for maintenance and testing during the previous quarter.
There was a 3.1 per cent decrease in fines overall when compared with the October-December period in 2016.
The top two camera sites are 40km/h zones, with the junction of Fitzroy St and Lakeside Drive in St Kilda coming in second.
Spots new to the top 10 included the Westgate Freeway in Brooklyn ($2.2 million from 7491 fines) and the intersection of North and Clayton roads in Oakleigh East ($919,819 from 3792 fines).
Bellarine Peninsula holiday-makers may have been stung twice with thousands of fines, adding up to more than $2.2 million, issued on the Melbourne and Geelong-bound lanes of the Princes Freeway in Lara.
Overall the Geelong Camera System, which includes parts of the Princes Freeway and Westgate Freeway, reaped more than $8.6 million from 34,700 fines.
Statewide there were 355,394 fines issued — 3862 a day — collecting $91.8 million.
Department of Justice and Regulation spokeswoman Ashleigh Brown said road safety cameras played an important role in deterring dangerous driving and reducing road trauma.
Most drivers do the right thing and stick to the speed limit but unfortunately there are still too many people risking their lives and the lives of other motorists and pedestrians,” Ms Brown said.
“We know that speeding and inappropriate travel speeds directly contribute to at least 30 per cent of deaths on Victoria’s roads each year and, for these reasons, maximum speed limits exist and are enforced throughout Victoria.
“Only those who are breaking the law are fined, so the easiest way to avoid receiving a fine is to stick to the speed limit.”
SITES WITH THE MOST FINES ISSUED — OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2017
1. Warrigal and Batesford roads, Chadstone — 10,373 fines
2. Fitzroy St and Lakeside Drive, St Kilda — 9923
3. Princes Freeway, Point Cook, Forsyth Rd Bridge, Geelong Bound — 7760
4. Westgate Freeway, Brooklyn, Eastbound, Grieve Parade Bridge — 7491
5. Flinders and William streets, Melbourne CBD — 6588
6. Princes Freeway, Lara, Avalon Rd Bridge, Melbourne-bound — 5560
7. Geelong Rd and Droop St, Footscray — 4471
8. Princes Freeway, Hoppers Crossing, Forsyth Rd Bridge, Melbourne-bound — 4358
9. North and Clayton roads, Oakleigh East — 3792
10. Princes Freeway, Lara, Avalon Rd Bridge, Geelong-bound — 3525
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