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Personally I am wondering when will people learn that 95% of what Harold Scruby does or says does not warrant media attention, this is possibly an exception.TFA wrote:Revealed: drivers freed to speed
EXCLUSIVE DEBORAH SNOW
October 31, 2009
PREVIOUSLY secret RTA figures dealing with camera-detected speeding offences appear to expose a policy of allowing a 10per cent tolerance before a penalty is applied.
The data shows that not a single NSW motorist was penalised for being caught travelling at speeds of between 100km/h and 110km/h in a 100km/h zone during July and August.
In every other speeding category, fixed cameras nabbed hundreds or thousands of offenders.
Harold Scruby, the head of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, says the figures reveal what many have long suspected – that the Roads and Traffic Authority allows a discretionary margin of 10 per cent in excess of the speed limit before a penalty is imposed.
He says that is far too soft, given the jump in this year's road toll, with nearly 400 people dying so far on the state's roads compared with 374 for all of last year.
The Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, and the Transport Minister, David Campbell, have campaigned this week for motorists to slow down – speed has been a critical factor in more than 40 per cent of accidents.
The RTA's website warns that "in a 60km/h speed limit area, the risk of involvement in a casualty crash doubles with each 5km/h increase in travelling speed above 60km/h".
Mr Scruby wants to know who is setting the tolerance threshold: "Is it some unaccountable Sir Humphrey who is under the instruction of ministers to make sure the Government is popular?"
The RTA says it works with the police to set tolerance levels but the police Traffic Services Commander, John Hartley, told the
Herald that "each organisation is responsible for the independent operation of their individual speed enforcement programs".
The RTA has offered no explanation for the figures, which were released to Mr Scruby under freedom-of-information laws.
A spokeswoman said, "The RTA sets minor tolerance levels to take into account things such as speedometer variances between vehicles."
She denied that tolerance levels were set at 10 per cent above the designated speed limit.
But asked to explain the lack of penalties in the 100-110km/h category, the authority said it "cannot speculate about why there were no offences in this two-month time frame".
Mr Scruby believes the margin has been inadvertently exposed by a shift since the end of June to 10km/h increments for lower-level speeding offences.
Previously, lower-level offences were lumped together in a group up to 15km/h over the limit.
A former Victorian assistant police commissioner, Ray Shuey, said "10 per cent has been sort of usual in many jurisdictions", although Victoria had moved to a lower threshold.
He said 10 per cent was based on an outdated Australian Design rule which erroneously assumed a large drift in some car speedometers.
Assistant Commissioner Hartley said the NSW Police Force did not discuss tolerance levels and "any motorist can be fined for exceeding the speed limit by 1km/h".
