Are The Freeway Speed Cameras Even Switched on? [VIC]

Mysterious on 15/04/2024 - 21:54
Last edited 15/04/2024 - 22:49

Hi OzBargainers,

I use the freeway daily to get to and from work, and I always see people speeding through the cameras at above 100kmph. Some drivers are well above 100kmph. I'm aware that speedometers are calibrated to be about ~10% less than actual speed, but it seems as if these drivers are going at least 105+. I see it on a daily basis. Surely these drivers are caught and penalised, or are the freeway cameras turned on and off at certain times? It confuses me because I thought they were turned on 24/7 to catch drivers exceeding the speed limit of 100kmph.

This is a genuine question by the way. I'm just curious if these people actually get penalised or not.

Automotive

Comments

  • iforgotmysocks on 15/04/2024 - 22:00
    +76

    They are calibrated to mostly target poor people.

    • HeWhoKnows on 16/04/2024 - 18:13
      +1

      In that case OP should go for a speeding test run and see if they receive a fine?

      I will check back in 2 weeks to see what eventuates

  • iguana on 15/04/2024 - 22:07
    +1

    What makes you think the speeders aren't caught?

    • Mysterious on 15/04/2024 - 22:09
      -6

      I shared this in my original post.

      I go past the speed cameras at the acceptable speed, but I witness drivers going well past the 100kmph speed limit. Do this multiple times and your license is suspended, no?

      • freefall101 on 15/04/2024 - 22:51
        +73

        This isn't the Truman show, there are different people in those cars each time.

        • Deals For Days on 16/04/2024 - 11:07
          +32

          Are you telling me the white toyota camry I see multiple times every day is actually multiple different cars?

          • freefall101 on 16/04/2024 - 16:06
            +4

            @Deals For Days: The one you're seeing is definitely the same car. I'll make sure to wave next time.

          • idonotknowwhy on 17/04/2024 - 08:05
            +10

            @Deals For Days: Yeah that fooled me several times. I'd see my own car driving in front of me and wonder what I was doing over there…

        • smalltime0 on 16/04/2024 - 16:03
          +7

          Have I been keying the wrong camry?
          I found it weird how they got the paintwork done so quickly…

      • richadam on 16/04/2024 - 11:29
        +20

        Your Speedometer isn't going at exactly 100km/h, download a GPS based app on your phone and you'll probably find that you Speedo is 5-7kms under the stated speed.

        So you'll probably find that the people "going past the 100kmph speed limit" are not actually going above the speed limit.

      • Slipstream on 16/04/2024 - 14:46
        +37

        Your vehicle speedo is almost certainly wrong. It's a fact that car manufactures intentionally make their speedometers read higher than you are going to stop any potential lawsuits heading their way for speeding fines incurred due to speedo saying you're going slower than you are. Furthermore the speed cameras usually have at least a 3km "tolerance" margin before they actually book you for a speeding offence, this can be up to 5km even. If you ever look at a speeding fine you'll see a "detected" speed and an "alleged" speed.

        Given all of these factors lets look at a very valid and viable scenario.

        Your speedo is telling you you're doing 100km p/h - in reality due to your speedo being over reading from manufacturer you're actually only doing 94km p/h (you can check this via a GPS speedometer)

        The car you're talking about is doing 105km p/h via his GPS speedo app (which a lot of people use inc myself to set a realistic speed) which in turn is detected as 105 km p/h by the speed camera. The camera then takes off 3km p/h as an "error adjustment" making the alleged speed 102km p/h - something too low for Victoria police to actually charge someone for.

        Your speed = 94km p/h
        Their Speed = 105km p/h
        Police "enforceable speed" = 102km p/h

        They pass you at almost 10km p/h making it SEEM like they're going terribly over the speed limit when in fact they're not even going to get pinged by this.

        This is the reality most drivers don't even seem to understand exists.

        • Something Darkside on 17/04/2024 - 08:38
          +2

          Subaru's are notorious for this, always 5-8km/h under.

          • Goat Lord on 17/04/2024 - 09:50

            @Something Darkside: Can confirm, my previous car was a Subaru 2010 WRX and I noticed the speedo reported 110 when I was actually doing around 102 km/hr. Asked Subaru to resolve and they would not, its a "safety feature". I ended up getting a small digital speedo readout that plugged into my OBD2 port to see my actual speed for all the highway driving I was going. Frustrating.

        • kaleidoscope on 17/04/2024 - 13:46

          manufactures set the speedo based on brand new factory tyres. Overtime tyres wear out affecting the speedo's reading (change in circumference). Another factor can be due to using different sized tyres (winter / summer tyres). Ideally you should have your speedo recalibrated if you change diameter of the tyres.

      • Camelface on 17/04/2024 - 13:07

        There are couple flaws here:
        1. OP thinks they're going high speed, but it may not be the case.
        2. It may not be the same vehicle

  • askbargain on 15/04/2024 - 22:12
    +5

    what are you using to measure?

      • askbargain on 15/04/2024 - 22:29
        +6

        wow nice ruler

          • askbargain on 15/04/2024 - 22:56
            +9

            @Mysterious: did you answer my genuine question?

          • HealthHazard on 16/04/2024 - 12:54

            @Mysterious: Are you sure these are speed cameras and not average speed camers? Average speed cameras / safety camera are used to give motorists on the freeway estimated time to ariive to a certain place rather than issue tickets.

      • Stewardo on 15/04/2024 - 22:38
        +14

        What are you using to measure the speed?

      • Slipstream on 16/04/2024 - 14:51
        +2

        Sorry but your reality is warped by an over reading speedo. Most drives are actually driving around at around 95km with their speeding "telling" them they're actually doing 100km

  • Hvrd on 15/04/2024 - 22:13
    -2

    usually speed cameras are activated at 10% over speed limit

    • Massive Flog on 15/04/2024 - 22:34
      +22

      @Hvrd It used to be that way in Victoria, but it was changed a few years ago to generate extra revenue… sorry, to "increase safety".

      You're only given 2-3 km/h leeway now.

      • freefall101 on 15/04/2024 - 22:53

        Hasn't it been that way for ages? I got a speeding fine for doing 108 in a 100 zone about 20 years ago.

        • JimB on 16/04/2024 - 11:06
          +2

          You were probably doing 115.

          They take say 3% off plus another 3, for errors.

          • kale chips suck on 16/04/2024 - 11:14
            +1

            @JimB: They take 2% off, with no more for margin for error.

            • JimB on 16/04/2024 - 11:49
              +1

              @kale chips suck: pretty sure it's at least 3km/hr

              • MrTweek on 16/04/2024 - 23:06
                +1

                @JimB: It's 2 km/h for stationary cameras. For mobile cameras it's 3% or 3 km/h, whichever is greater.

                • amsaini15 on 16/04/2024 - 23:39

                  @MrTweek: Is that NSW too or just VIC?

                  • MrTweek on 16/04/2024 - 23:55

                    @amsaini15: No idea, I just know the rules for VIC

                  • JDMcarfan on 18/04/2024 - 17:26

                    @amsaini15: NSW is commonly quoted (not explicitly stated) as 10%+2kph as the threshold for getting a fine.
                    ^This is for cameras. Police officers are told to use discretion.
                    Anecdotally, the last 2 fines in my house have both been right on this threshold (68 in 60 and 90 in 80), but I have not gone to test this.
                    This would explain the focus of cameras (both mobile and fixed) in suburban and regional b-roads rather than highways, which i approve.

                    • JDMcarfan on 18/04/2024 - 17:36

                      @JDMcarfan: further to this, this policy makes it uneconomical for RevenueNSW to have cameras (particularly mobile) on 90+ kph roads (90*1.1+2=101), as they could only fine you for >10kph over limit fines and thus lose out on the most common speeding offence (<10kph over).
                      I got curious so did a check on this and the % ratio of mobile speed camera fines to total speeding fines in NSW increases from 14% to 18% for <10kph and >10kph respectively.

                • JimB on 17/04/2024 - 10:57

                  @MrTweek: Good to know.

                  I've never been done by a fixed camera… got a few from the mobile cameras.. didn't see them or slow down in time.

                  Fortunately it's been less than 10km/h over so I've managed to get the fine waived.

      • Mechz on 15/04/2024 - 23:24
        -4

        No, you can still get away with doing 107 (GPS calculated speed) through the cameras.

        They take away 2km/h for error correction and don't send fines for 105 in a 100 zone.

        • DazMon on 16/04/2024 - 19:56
          +3

          Do not give out 'advice' like this.

          • Terra Australis on 18/04/2024 - 00:10

            @DazMon: Is he wrong or are you just spreading fear?

            • DazMon on 18/04/2024 - 19:19

              @Terra Australis: Do your own research, don't have blind faith that you can drive through cameras in all states at 107kmh.
              I'm sure all states are different too.

    • sammm on 16/04/2024 - 08:25
      +5

      Acually its 3km over the speed limit. thats your grace.

      • chriise on 17/04/2024 - 08:52

        Do you know if that’s the same for nsw?

        • tekisei on 17/04/2024 - 16:53

          I just use the VIC rules in NSW - 2km/hr for fixed, and 3km/hr for mobile. Then I set cruise control if I enter in speed camera zone.

          If I don't notice in time, then it gives me a bit of leeway since there's no confirmed tolerance level in NSW, though it is for sure looser than VIC.

    • JakeyJooJoo on 17/04/2024 - 10:04

      Not even the case in NSW any more. I was driving through Northconnex, the variable speed sign was down from 80 to 60. I slowed to 60. There was literally no reason for it to be 60, road was sparsley filled with no obstructions/road works. Probably a car crash like 5 hours ago and the dogs left the variable speed up for revenue raising. Essentially driving on a near new perfectly fine highhway at 60/kmh. While annoyed, I unintentially sped up slightly over the speed limit, got a fine for doing 64 in a 60 zone.
      Would have fined every single car that went through as my speed matched the slowest vehicle.

      • tekisei on 17/04/2024 - 16:55
        +1

        Yeah don't mess around in tunnels, they're filled with fixed speed cameras and often you don't know where they are so just set cruise control.

        • JakeyJooJoo on 18/04/2024 - 22:37

          100% cruise control is the way to go. Unfortunately I was driving my ute which doesn't have it.

  • Porker on 15/04/2024 - 22:19
    +14

    Depending on which cameras you're referring to, some are point-to-point.

    • Mysterious on 15/04/2024 - 22:46

      Thanks for your response. Always wondered what that camera was for.

  • Clipzero on 15/04/2024 - 22:50
    +3

    I seriously getting passed by everyone if i set the speed to 100km, people are easily going 120k on m80.

    • freefall101 on 15/04/2024 - 22:54
      +5

      There's only a few points with permanent speed cameras on the m80, you can tell where they are because everyone slows down.

      It's like citylink into the city, doing 80 (when it's limited to 80) on that road is near hazardous.

      • elgrande on 15/04/2024 - 23:12
        +10

        I travel in both Sydney and Melbourne frequently. I find that speeding is much more common in Melbourne, and road work speed limits are pretty much ignored by all.

        • askbargain on 15/04/2024 - 23:16
          +2

          hell yeah!

        • freefall101 on 15/04/2024 - 23:25

          Yup, it's basically the norm. The solution in Melbourne is stay in the left lane. That's what I do, just enjoy watching the people fly past to get into banked up traffic 5 minutes later because some moron in his commodore with worn tyres hit the concrete wall and shut down the road.

          There are very few cameras and I think everyone drives like everyone else. Citylink has none, from what I can tell.

        • Caped Baldy on 16/04/2024 - 09:56
          +5

          I saw that Brisbane has some roadwork speed cameras….

          I get that conditions are potentially changed but 90% of the times I drive through construction zones, no one is working.

          • NoKarmaNoDrama on 16/04/2024 - 14:23
            +3

            @Caped Baldy: It is so frustrating slowing down for construction zones on weekends. Not sure why they can't have adjustable speed limits

    • serpserpserp on 16/04/2024 - 21:35
      +1

      M80 is like driving in the Thunderdome. Anything goes. Sometimes I see tradies weaving through the traffic at 150kmh just for the hell of it.

  • minty on 16/04/2024 - 01:01
    +8

    Are you referring to speedo or GPS (Gmap/Waze) read out? Latter is much more accurate, to do 110 on the highway my (analogue) speedo shows around 123-124, 66 translate to 60 etc etc.

    Rented a Toyota van last year and its digital speedo was almost 1:1 to GPS, so depends on your make/model/year. If you google your car I imagine there's most probably someone who's done tests.

    • Sammy2000 on 16/04/2024 - 07:18
      +15

      Op might be driving at 80 thinking people at 100 are hooning.

      • skidexa on 16/04/2024 - 14:14
        +2

        Lol apparently every speeders speed is right and if you complain…yours is wrong. I see this bs everytime it comes up.

    • skidexa on 16/04/2024 - 14:15

      Thats a big difference…you might want to get that checked

      • minty on 16/04/2024 - 17:01

        How much of a variance is there for you at 110?

  • djones145 on 16/04/2024 - 03:18
    +17

    go test it
    drive 200 and report back

  • joka on 16/04/2024 - 06:15

    Which freeway are we talking about? Yes, some don’t work i.e at the top of the Westgate bridge.

  • Myone888 on 16/04/2024 - 08:26
    +2

    Motorists going well over 100kmh even on 80 zones on eastern freeway Victoria. Obviously no police enforcement at all but yet this was the key location where many people died in accidents!

  • skillet on 16/04/2024 - 09:19
    +5

    Why must one obey the speed limit only when there's a speed camera?

    If you are wondering why, set two or three phones on the car with the gps on. Then you will find out your speedo is much slower than the speed stated on the GPS.
    Best work on a day with blue sky and no tall building. Clouds may interfere with accuracy.

  • Butterchurner on 16/04/2024 - 09:46
    +2

    Which freeway? They can exist without being commissioned. If there's no advance sign advising of their presence, they're not operational e.g. Calder Fwy.

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 09:48

      They can exist without being commissioned

      or they could be decommissioned like the West Gate Bridge.

  • AngoraFish on 16/04/2024 - 09:58
    +12

    All active permanently fixed speed cameras currently in Victoria can be found on the map here https://www.vic.gov.au/find-road-safety-camera

    The ones approaching the West Gate Bridge have not been commissioned yet, and some are for tolling future users of the West Gate Tunnel.

    Also, not all cameras are speed cameras. Some of the gantry cameras are for heavy vehicle tracking number plate recognition, some are just general traffic monitoring cameras, and some have been decommissioned and are no longer in use (eg at the top of the West Gate Bridge).

    • smalltime0 on 16/04/2024 - 16:06
      +1

      Was going to say that.
      Cameras do other things.

    • rickdwp on 16/04/2024 - 22:21
      +2

      yeah driving to and from Ballarat-Melbourne the amount of people that sit on 120-130km/hr then slow down to 105km/hr at the heavy vehicle monitoring cams near Ballan is insane

  • Odin on 16/04/2024 - 10:55
    +9

    Your speedometer is probably out.

    You think you're doing 100 , but you're actually doing 90

    Do you see a lot of people overtaking you? That's probably why.

    • serpserpserp on 16/04/2024 - 21:36
      -2

      Yeah because speedos go out all the time because we drive cars from the 1960s.

      • Odin on 17/04/2024 - 00:00
        +2

        No, because manufacturers tend to be cautious. From a manufacturers point of view, it's much better to overestimate speed than underestimate it.

        Wouldn't be great if a car buyer sued a car maker for a deadly crash because it was found their speedometer was inaccurate and telling them they were driving slower than reality.

        It's also just based on empirical evidence. Go and test your own car with a GPS speed app. You can use a standalone GPS, your phone, or anything you want. Countless people have done this and found their speedometers over report speed.

        It's generally found that speedometers are between 5 and 10% over reporting.

      • CocaKoala on 17/04/2024 - 20:26

        You seem to think you know everything but in fact you know very little. Cars from the 60s could actually be showing the correct speed. But speedometers in modern cars are intentionally calibrated to show a faster speed to avoid legal issues.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 16/04/2024 - 11:14
    +4

    It's a tax for the poor.
    The Richie Rich's register their car to a Pty Ltd and pay the additional fine for not identifying the driver. Happens too many times? Sell the vehicle, but a better one, register a new Pty Ltd.

    • supersabroso on 17/04/2024 - 11:26

      Exactly, then this entire fine gets written off to offset that exact amount in profits so they avoid paying the 30% business tax on it.

      • hydration station on 17/04/2024 - 14:14
        +2

        Fines cannot be expensed, they are taken out of equity - post tax income

  • cloudy on 16/04/2024 - 11:17

    I had a mate who drive on a freeway to work many years ago, and he told me one day he got 6 letters of speeding coz he didn't realize they installed new cameras on his path to work! DOH!! copped a couple thousand dollar fine or something…I just laughed out loud, saving a few minutes is so costly.

    People do stupid things on our roads all the time

    • KozieSeller on 16/04/2024 - 12:13

      I don’t think speeding abit here is the issue, Germany have no speed limit high ways

      This is what many have observed, tax on the poor, just as inflation is for help rich get richer.

      • gromit on 16/04/2024 - 12:21
        +1

        Germany have a few no speed limit sections on the autobahn, though most of it now has speed limits and the amount with speed limits is increasing not decreasing.

  • eek on 16/04/2024 - 12:11
    -1

    It really only matters for people who have privately registered cars linked to a driver's licence with demerit points. If it's commercial and owned by a PTY LTD, they'll happily just pay the extra $$ and keep speeding. I mean, if money is no issue and you like the adrenaline rush, why not?

    • SuperLate on 17/04/2024 - 02:48

      Isn't it more than $3000 for a corporation owned vehicle for a speeding infringement notice if they fail to nominate a driver? Are people really paying more than $3k everytime their hormones burst unless they've filed for bankruptcy anyway.

      https://www.vic.gov.au/fine-amounts-and-demerit-points

      • plmko on 17/04/2024 - 08:41
        +2

        People on fast money don't care. Try meeting people to learn different mindsets out there. So yes I would say $3k is cheap for them.

  • DiscoJango on 16/04/2024 - 12:13

    ive used gps apps to see exactly how far my car is going, to actually do 100kph my speedo is around 107kph

  • Menzoberranzan on 16/04/2024 - 13:04

    Have you actually checked your real speed using Waze's GPS or are you basing your speed assessments on your own fluff? Maybe you are driving a lot slower than everyone else

  • Joey2scoops on 16/04/2024 - 13:25
    +1

    As the cool kids say, f#ck around and find out.

    Also, agree with all those GPS posts. On a good day I sit on 105 per my speedo, knowing I'm a smidge under 100kph. I'm passing just about everyone at that speed.

  • BoomTetrisForJeff on 16/04/2024 - 14:21
    +1

    yes they are turned on (city bound monash fwy before bourke street exit)
    my friend lost his license for 12 months there

    • JimB on 17/04/2024 - 10:58

      city bound monash fwy before bourke street exit.

      before bourke street exit?

      • BoomTetrisForJeff on 17/04/2024 - 16:04

        burke rd sorry

        • JimB on 18/04/2024 - 09:15

          lol.

          If you're speeding past the massive speed camera's then you deserve to get fined.

          I'm pleasantly surprised they haven't moved the speed camera further down 500m after the speed limit changes from 100 to 80. That would catch heaps more people.

  • p1 ama on 16/04/2024 - 14:27

    I'm just curious if these people actually get penalised or not.

    Why don't you go through one at the same speeds as others you're seeing and find out first hand?

    • AustriaBargain on 16/04/2024 - 15:29
      +1

      Absolutely, go the speed limit in the left lane and people can go around you if they really want to speed.

  • billy72 on 16/04/2024 - 15:06

    Yes it turns on all the times, however, I think they set it at a higher limit.
    I did 104~105 many times without a problem and got one ticket at 108.

    • FutureTech on 18/04/2024 - 18:07

      What's the detected speed and alleged speed on your ticket?

      • billy72 on 21/04/2024 - 22:12

        detected speed was 108 and the alleged speed was 105

  • AustriaBargain on 16/04/2024 - 15:28

    I bet there's edge cases they just outright reject, and obstructed photos that they can't use. I'd never speed past one though, gambling with hundreds of dollars just to save a few seconds time is nuts, not to mention the increased risk of death to someone in an accident.

  • JimmyF on 16/04/2024 - 16:04
    +2

    Are The Freeway Speed Cameras Even Switched on? [VIC]

    Which freeway are you talking about? There are many freeways in VIC with cameras on them.

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