Mobile speed cameras inside SUVs will be stationed on New Zealand roadsides from next week.
New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi announced that from Tuesday, May 13, camera-equipped SUVs would park on sides of roads across Auckland to record speeding drivers.
The SUVs would join camera-equipped vans traditionally used by police.
The agency also planned to add trailers to its speed camera vehicle fleet later in the year.
By the end of the rollout, there would be 44 mobile cameras nationwide, with 35 operating at any given time.
NZTA head of regulatory strategic programmes Tara Macmillan said mobile speed cameras would save lives.
“Speeding drivers can cause serious and irreparable harm on the roads, including deaths and serious injuries. Evidence shows that we can reduce the chance of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes if drivers travel within speed limits, and that is why we have safety cameras.
She said the new cameras would be deployed on a “anytime, anywhere” basis. There would be no signs telling drivers they were approaching a camera.
The exact timing and location of the cameras would be based on factors such as crash data and feedback from local communities.
“Mobile cameras will be used in places where there is a risk of people being killed or seriously injured in a crash,” Macmillan said.
“Evidence shows that unsigned mobile safety cameras are twice as effective at reducing crashes than sign posted cameras. So, while our safety cameras in SUVs and trailers will be visible to drivers and will not be hidden, they won’t be signposted.”
Any incentives or funds from tickets would go into the Government Consolidated Fund, not to the NZ Transport Agency.
From July 1, the agency would be taking over responsibility for all speed cameras, with police no longer operating its vans.
Police officers would still continue to issue notices for offences they detected.
