Country cameras to encourage safe driving

30/10/2016 6:30 AM

• ​Three fixed speed cameras installed on country roads in a WA first
• Point-to-point average speed camera test period to begin
• Wheatbelt targeted in line with the Wheatbelt Highway Safety Review

For the first time in Western Australia, permanent speed cameras will be installed on regional roads as part of the Liberal National Government's strategy to improve road safety.

Deputy Premier and Road Safety Minister Liza Harvey also revealed the State's first point-to-point speed camera, which measures average speed over a distance, would begin being tested tomorrow (October 31).

"Last year, speed was a factor in nearly 40 per cent of fatal crashes, and these new cameras are being installed in black spots which have had a history of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes," Ms Harvey said.

"There is simply no excuse to drive over the posted speed limit.  The vast majority of West Australian drivers obey the rules, but for those who don't, there is now more chance than ever that they will be caught and receive a hefty penalty."

The fixed speed cameras will be located at:

• Great Eastern Highway, Wundowie
• Great Eastern Highway, Northam
• Indian Ocean Drive, Gabbadah

The Deputy Premier said there had been 100 crashes, six fatalities and 34 people injured along the stretch of Great Eastern Highway between 2011 and 2015.  During the same period, 15 people were injured in 33 crashes along Indian Ocean Drive.

Ms Harvey said point-to-point cameras were a new technology for Western Australia and would be tested over a six-month period before becoming a permanent feature of WA's speed and red light camera network. 

The camera is located along a 26-kilometre stretch of Forrest Highway near Lake Clifton, where seven people have died and 43 people have been injured in the past six years.

"The rate of fatalities reduced 34 per cent between 2008 and 2015.  Speed cameras and enforcement are only one part of our road safety strategy, which also includes education and safer roads," she said.

Fact File

• The new regional fixed speed cameras will become operational by December
• 100% of speed and red light camera fines go into the Road Trauma Trust Account to fund proven road safety initiatives
• In 2015-16, the Liberal National Government allocated a record $148.5m from the RTTA