By Charlene Gatt
DRIVERS beware: a new speed and red-light camera will soon be switched on in Maidstone.
The camera, which has been installed at the intersection of Ballarat Rd and Ashley St, will be switched on in coming weeks as part of a roll out of 32 new speed and red-light cameras across the state.
The cameras were installed by the former Labor Government more than a year ago, but the Coalition Government refused to switch them on until they completed their own audit on road safety cameras.
“This exhaustive report, recently tabled in Parliament, found Victoria’s road safety cameras were focused on road safety, not raising revenue, and that cameras save lives,” Police Minister Peter Ryan said.
The new addition will bring the City of Maribyrnong’s safety camera tally to seven.
According to the Fines Victoria website, a total $4,377,230 in fines was given out by the municipality’s cameras over the 2010-11 financial year.
The most profitable camera at the corner of Ballarat Rd and Churchill Ave raked in more than $1.3 million in fines.
All net revenue collected from speeding and red-light camera infringements is directed back into road safety infrastructure, according to Fines Victoria.
“The activation of these cameras are timely as October was the worst month on our roads last year with 36 people fatalities, representing an eighth of the 2010 road toll in just one month,” Mr Ryan said.
“Speed is responsible for about a third of all deaths on our roads and if these cameras slow speeding motorists down, they will save lives.
“These cameras are located at intersections across the state to deter motorists from flouting the road rules and endangering their own lives and the lives of others.”
Since cameras were introduced in the late 1980s, Victoria’s road toll has more than halved and the 2010 road toll of 288 is the lowest annual road toll since monthly records began back in 1952.
