ACT govt must restore trust through transparency on speeding

But like any public program, modifying behaviour requires those seeking to make those modifications to build public trust and confidence that the measures they have in place are transparent, fair and open to public scrutiny.

Public confidence in the fairness of the ACT's speed-camera enforcement was dealt a terrible blow last year when a technical fault in the network was revealed (not by the government, but by the public) and then admitted.

The documents which were sourced by The Canberra Times via freedom of information revealed the web of ACT government evasiveness which flowed when the technical fault was detected, and the internal ruminations around how best to deal with it.

What the documents revealed was that hundreds of drivers had been detected speeding by the cameras, but a glitch in the system meant that the dates on the camera images and the infringements didn't match.

A fair-minded approach would have been to either waive the infringements from the "our blunder, so we'll cop it" perspective, or reissue the infringements to match the imagery.

The government did neither, claiming the task of reissuing was too resource-intensive and might undermine public confidence in the network. The bottom line was: "Challenge it if you like, we'll see you in court."

They were challenged, and they lost.

But critically, also lost at the time was a huge amount of public trust in the fairness of the government and its use of speed cameras to legitimately seek a modification in driving behaviour for the overall benefit of road safety.

So it should be no surprise to the government that the public feels aggrieved that, once again, speed cameras are being used to raise millions in fines without the appropriate degree of transparency and fairness.

In the case of the recalibration of the Civic cameras and the lowering their threshold of detection to 40km/h to suit a new speed environment, there was no attempt keep it quiet. Drivers were warned it would happen.

However, the communication of that change, and the expected degree of public discourse around why it needs to occur, was sadly lacking.

Having a low-speed environment in that part of Civic makes good sense. The confluence of buses, trams, and a huge volume of pedestrian traffic means vulnerable road users are exposed to greater risk.

But where was the value-added discussion for the public to digest, such as engineering-based warnings like rumble strips across the roadway or large flashing warning signs?

Nine years ago, the NSW government announced - as a result of an NRMA-initiated petition to Parliament - that all speed-camera and red-light camera revenue would go into a Community Safety Fund.

In 2020, the NRMA petitioned the same from the ACT government. It also urged that the fund have the oversight of an independent body to ensure the money raised goes into roads and driver education rather than into general revenue.

Such transparency would go a long way in restoring public confidence in a network which, at the moment, appears to be in need of repair.

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