Speeding fines issued in Canberra increased by more than 155 per cent in the last financial year, the most significant increase in at least half a decade.
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A leading road safety expert has said more mobile speed cameras should be used in Canberra to discourage speeding across the entire road network, following an evaluation of the territory's speed camera program.
Meanwhile, more than 1000 drivers have been caught breaking the law by using their phones while driving in a trial of mobile phone detection cameras.
The territory government issued 160,320 speeding fines in 2021-22, up from 62,762 in 2020-21.
In every financial year since 2016-17, the number of infringements has ranged between 61,272 and 67,751.
The steep increase in speeding fines in the most recent financial year has been driven by the tickets issued to drivers caught speeding in the 40km/h speed zone in the city centre.
Professor Max Cameron, from Monash University's Accident Research Centre, said he was unsurprised the introduction of the 40km/h zone in the city centre resulted in a high number of fines.
"There's two possible reactions I've seen in other places: it creates such a public outcry that the speed limit reduction is removed and that's a backward step in terms of road safety. Or secondly that the drivers actually change their behaviour and drive slower and that's really the aim of it," Professor Cameron said.
Professor Cameron said the government had been justified to reduce the speed limit on Northbourne Avenue.
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The research centre has recently completed a second study for the ACT government on the speed camera program generally, which Professor Cameron said was in good shape.
"There should be more mobile speed cameras. There should be greater use of the point-to-point systems, which measure average speed; they're an alternative to the fixed cameras ... because they can cover a length of road of essentially any length," Professor Cameron said.
"Of course the new technology to detect mobile phone use and seat belt non-use, which the ACT government has recently installed on a trial basis, is consistent with our recommendations."
The new mobile phone detection cameras - which have been set up on Yamba Drive, Canberra Avenue and Horse Park Drive as part of the trial - identified 1306 offences between February 14 and 20.
Drivers will not receive fines from the new cameras until October 2023.
The Civic fixed-point speed cameras were the focus of significant community frustration after the speed limit was reduced from 60km/h to 40km/h in July 2021.
More than 45 per cent of infringements issued in the Civic 40km/h zone between July 1, 2021 and October 31, 2022 were sent to motorists with cars registered interstate.
The government raised nearly $13 million from drivers in the zone in 2021.
There were 67,293 infringements issued for speeding in the Civic 40km/h zone in 2021, meaning more tickets were issued in six months from that area than were issued city-wide in 2020-21.
A 2014 evaluation of the ACT's road safety camera program found mean percentile speeds reduced by 6 to 8 per cent on roads with mobile cameras after their introduction in 1999.
"A rising trend in serious injury crashes was identified from 2006 - when the number of mobile camera operations undertaken in the ACT decreased by around 30 per cent," the government has said previously.
The new figures were released in answer to a question on notice asked in the Legislative Assembly by Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
