SPEEDING fines will be raised 5 per cent and mobile speed cameras rolled out across the state from July as part of a Government push to curb the soaring road toll.
And motorists who accrue more than six demerit points will be specifically targeted with road safety information in a campaign against repeat traffic offenders.
The moves are part of a $170 million road safety package released in the wake of The Daily Telegraph's I Promise campaign as the state's toll climbs to 104 already this year.
Almost half of all accidents are caused by speeding - more even than alcohol-related crashes - and the Government wants to make breaking the speed limit as stigmatised and frowned-upon as drink-driving.
Mobile speed cameras using obsolete "wet" film were phased out from 2005, leaving NSW the only state not to use them.
But from July 19, six marked vans will hit the streets, eventually clocking up more than 12,000 hours on the roads every month.
Motorists will be told in advance about the target areas but not when the vans will be there. And for a month from July 19, drivers caught speeding by a mobile unit will only receive a warning instead of a fine.
Other parts of the package include:
* The speed-camera function at digital red-light safety camera sites will be turned on as cameras are installed;
* A $50 million safety audit of major state highways, including the Great Western, Mid-Western and Mitchell, with audits planned for the Oxley, Sturt and New England;
* A $50 million safety upgrade of high-crash areas, including installing corrugated lane lines, wire rope barriers and wider shoulders on roads with a history of head-on crashes or vehicles running off the road;
* $45 million for council road upgrades;
* A $10 million safety awareness and education campaign; and
* $4 million on fencing for pedestrian accident hotspots.
"These measures are designed to improve safety on roads with a serious crash history, as well as target speeding," Transport Minister David Campbell said yesterday.
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Just another "speed kills" campaign by the govt
I don't blame them - they need all the money they can get after pissing most of it away these past years....
