NSW government to trial using average speed cameras for all vehicles not just trucks

NSW will trial average speed cameras to assess the road safety benefits of expanding their use from heavy vehicles to all vehicles.

Speeding is the biggest killer on NSW roads, contributing to 41 per cent of all fatalities over the past decade. That is 136 families and friend networks every year whose lives are never the same again after losing someone in a road crash where speeding was a contributing factor.

Regional NSW is home to a third of the population but is where two-thirds of all road deaths happen.

Two trials will be conducted on limited stretches of highway in regional NSW to assess whether these measures reduce speeding at these locations, improving safety and preventing injuries and fatalities. The trial areas are:

• Pacific Highway between Kew and Lake Innes (Port Macquarie) – 15kms between cameras
• Hume Highway between Coolac and Gundagai – 16kms between cameras

These two stretches have been chosen based on a number of factors, including known crash history. There were a combined total of six fatalities and 33 serious injuries between 2018 and 2022 at these locations.

Trials are proposed to begin with a 60-day period in which speeding drivers will receive a warning letter rather than a fine before normal enforcement, including fines and demerit points, begin.

Safer Roads and Highways (SARAH), President, Peter Frazer said:

“These cameras promote safer driving habits by encouraging drivers and riders to stick to the speed limit. This not only lowers their risk of being involved in a serious crash, but also protects the lives and wellbeing of everyone on the road.

“At SARAH we have been lobbying for the introduction of Point to Point (average speed camera) systems to apply to all vehicles in NSW for more than a decade. We therefore congratulate the NSW Government on announcing this life-saving trial.”