NSW government is planning to remove speed and red camera signs across the state in a bid to save more lives on NSW roads. The planned move, according to the state, will save 54 lives each year.
Already in 2019 there have been 310 lives lost on the state’s roads – up by 16 compared to this time last year.
“We’ve seen speed cameras reduce fatality rates by 80 per cent at intersections around this state,” NSW Transport and Roads Minister Andrew Constance said.
Critics however have raised an eyebrow – claiming the move is intended to increase government revenue for the state, especially after news reports in October said that Sydney motorists had been issued $104 million in speed camera within 12 months.
New South Wales top motoring body, the NRMA, has urged the government to rethink the proposal.
“The warning signs act as a crucial education tool to alert motorists that they’re driving in dangerous locations where people have been killed or injured and obviously what we want them to do is slow down,” NRMA Spokesperson, Peter Khoury said on Monday.
According to NRMA, the warning signs and cameras are strategically placed in dangerous locations to deter speeding on NSW roads.
