WA’s first point-to-point speed camera has proven to be successful, with numbers showing a downward trend in drivers going over the speed limit between Lake Clifton and Binningup.
The camera covers a 26km Forrest Highway stretch between Peppermint Grove Road and Noble Road southbound and northbound, and uses number plate recognition to measure the time and speed at which vehicles pass through the two camera points.
The six-month trial period for the average speed camera, which started in October, ended on April 30 and Road Safety commissioner Kim Papalia said he is pleased with the result.
“Although these cameras have not started issuing penalties against speeding drivers, the data has shown that they already act as a deterrent for speeding drivers,” he said.
“Early data from the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) tells us that soon after the cameras were installed there was a 5 to 6 per cent reduction in drivers recorded as speeding within the zone, that equates to around 25,000 dirvers.”
The preliminary results from the ARRB also found that during the first three months of the testing period 35 per cent of vehicles traveling down the stretch were found to speed, although only 10 per cent of those were driving more than 10km over the speed limit.
Between January 2012 and October 2016, when the camera was installed, there were five fatal crashes and 15 serious injury crashes on the same road stretch.
Between October 31, 2016, and December 31, 2016, there were no fatalities recorded within the zone.
“That stretch of the Forrest Highway was chosen as a test site for this technology in Western Australia as it is a known crash black spot,” Mr Papalia said.
"The crash statistics since the inception of the average speed safety camera zone provide positive evidence of their effectiveness at reducing speed travel speeds and the reduction of crashes resulting in death and serious injury.
"Slow down and we can save lives."
The ARRB will publish a final report on the test period once the remaining data for 2017 has been compiled.