Avondale Heights road safety camera rakes in $2.8m revenue over 90-day period

A red light and speed camera set up at the bottom of a hill in Melbourne’s northwest is proving to be one of the state’s most lucrative, fining drivers on average every five minutes over a three months.

A red light and speed camera set up at the bottom of a hill in Avondale Heights raised nearly $3m in revenue for the state government in the first three months it was operating.

The most recent government figures reveal the new camera, installed at the corner of Canning St and Bellavista Dr, issued a fine, on average, every five minutes between April and June.

It is on track to raise more than $10m in revenue in its first year of operation.

In total, 10,252 drivers were issued a total of $2.8 million of infringements in three months — more than double the next most lucrative camera in the state.

The Avondale Heights camera was also among the top 10 most lucrative in the state last financial year, despite only operating for around 90 days.

The camera has been criticised by local residents, who claim placing it at the bottom of a hill has resulted in motorists being fined if they are unable to stop in time for a red light.

One resident, on social media, claimed they saw motorists clocked “more than five times” in a matter of minutes.

The Department of Justice and Community Safety issued more than $154 million in fines statewide in FY2022-23. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“The amount of revenue this camera is generating can only rival the states poker machines,” the resident said.

Road Policing Assistant Commissioner, Glenn Weir told the Herald Sun many drivers thought it was acceptable to drive a “little bit” over the speed limit.

“While we don’t want to issue infringements, our role is to prevent people from becoming seriously injured or dying on our roads.”

“Speeding remains the number one cause of fatal and serious injury collisions on Victorian roads,” he said.

From April to June last year, the second most lucrative camera in the state, behind the Avondale Heights camera, was on the corner of Warrigal Rd and Batesford Rd in Chadstone.

It issued almost 5000 infringements, totalling $1.4m.

Over the course of the 2022-2023 financial year, the most lucrative camera in the state was at the intersection of Rosanna Rd and Darebin St in Heidelberg.

It issued more than 35,000 fines, totalling more than $10m, but saw a sharp drop-off in the number of fines issued in the last quarter of the financial year.

Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said many drivers believe it was acceptable to drive over the speed limit. Picture: NCA NewsWire

The Department of Justice and Community Safety issued than $154 million statewide in 2022-23, issuing more than 450,000 infringements from fixed offences detected by red light and speed cameras.

Last year, 296 lives including drivers, passengers, motorcyclists and more were lost on Victorian roads — the largest number since 304 people died in collisions in 2008.

Police believed many incidents were linked to basic driving errors such as failing to obey road signs and red lights, using mobile phones behind the wheel and low-range speeding.

High-range drink driving, illicit drug driving and excessive speeding made up about a quarter of fatal collisions.

A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesman last month said road safety cameras were one of the “most effective” methods to save lives.

“The facts speak for themselves – there is on average a 47 per cent reduction in crashes resulting in death or injury on stretches of road where a camera is installed.”