Just what we always wanted.

[FG XR]

Sorry if this has being posted but i did check before.



DRIVERS are about to be whacked by mobile speed cameras the NSW Government believes will help deliver more than $100 million in fines this financial year alone.

Macquarie Bank, dubbed "the millionaires' factory" because of the huge salaries paid to executives, is attempting to secure a cut of the bonanza by launching a $275 million takeover bid for Redflex, the company contracted by the State Government to operate the cameras.

An initial fleet of six camera vehicles will be rolled out from July 19 at traffic black spots across NSW with plans for more next financial year.

Video: Take a look at the high-tech vehicles

They can fine six drivers every second.

Budget papers reveal that revenue from fines will almost double from $295 million in 2008-09 to $570 million in 2011-12.

The fleet of white Ford Territory vans will carry radar cameras that can catch as many as six speeding cars travelling in either direction, every second, day or night, regardless of weather conditions.
The vans also record video and have roof-mounted CCTV cameras.

An initial fleet of six camera vehicles will be rolled out in eight days, with plans for more next financial year.

The NSW Government refuses to disclose how much of the revenue will go to Redflex, which also supplies fixed speed cameras, but the Victoria-based company is now the target of a takeover bid by Macquarie Bank.

The bank and two of its wholly owned subsidiaries - Macquarie Radar Holdings and Macquarie Special Situations Master Fund - bought 10 per cent of Redflex in June.

Macquarie Bank has made billions out of privatising roads and airports in NSW. Last year, the corporate giant made more than $1 billion.

Drivers will not be warned before driving into the mobile speed camera's zone. A small sign on the vehicle reads: "Safe speed check". Another sign placed at the roadside will inform motorists: "Your speed has been checked."

The speed camera locations will be uploaded daily to the Roads and Traffic Authority website to encourage drivers to slow down.

Fines will also be waived for the first month of operation, with drivers receiving a warning letter, instead.

The Sunday Telegraph was given the first look at the new vehicles last week. Each has two bi-directional radars to measure the speed of as many as six lanes of traffic.

Inside the boot is an 11- megapixel digital camera, which will take two photographs of speeding motorists.

Alongside the digital camera is a video camera, which will record continuously to monitor the road. On the roof is the infrared flash, which is invisible to the naked eye to avoid distracting drivers caught at night.

Mobile speed cameras will be parked at each destination for three hours, before moving on to a new location.

"The mobile speed cameras will only be placed in locations with a high accident history as determined by the RTA in consultation with NSW Police," Dr Soames Job, director of the RTA's Centre for Road Safety, said.

The NSW Government has refused to specify what proportion of its $137 million increase in fines will come from the mobile cameras. Last year, about $62 million was collected by fixed speed cameras.

Based on the Budget figures and an average fine of $211, an estimated 1600 more drivers a day could be booked this financial year.

Mobile cameras have been responsible for a sharp increase in speeding fines in Victoria, where 50,000 drivers a month are caught. Angry motorists claim they are simply a revenue-raising tool.

NSW Roads Minister David Borger said he was determined to cut the road toll and the mobile cameras would help.

The NRMA wants a review of the cameras if the road toll remains unchanged.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/new-...#ixzz0tLaZ1ioQ