Plan to help Victorians avoid speeding fines

Thousands of motorists who could get their speeding fines scrapped are paying up because they don't know they can ask for a warning instead.

Traffic camera commissioner Gordon Lewis told News Corp Australia he would do all he could to fix the problem.

Motorists eligible to apply for an official warning include those who speed by less than 10km/h without having incurred any other traffic fines in the previous two years, and those speeding by 10 to 14km/h who haven't been booked in the previous three years.

Mr Lewis said yesterday he would recommend that infringement notices be changed to include prominently displayed advice on how motorists can ask for a review.

It is vitally important that the entire traffic camera system be as transparent as possible

He also wants the notices to boldly display the principal criteria police use in deciding whether to issue a warning, while emphasising that these are not the only grounds that will be considered.

"It is vitally important that the entire traffic camera system be as transparent as possible - and that should include being open about how motorists can apply for an official warning instead of a fine," Mr Lewis told the Herald Sun.

"This information needs to be prominently displayed on every speeding infringement notice. That isn't happening now, and it should be.

"All the infringement notice currently tells the person is that they can apply for an internal review.

"But it is printed on the notice in very small type and I suspect not many people see it. And the notice doesn't tell motorists on what grounds they might be eligible to get an official warning."

Urging Victoria Police and the Department of Justice to take his comments on board, Mr Lewis said infringement notices were convoluted, cluttered and challenged the reading comprehension of even the most literate people.

He said the reference to a review also gave a website as the first point of reference.

If the price of transparency requires two pages instead of one, why not?

"Now, I don't think we can assume that all motorists have access to computers or know how to use them," he said.

"A third of all complaints received at my office come by post, mainly from older drivers.

"I feel that the details of what factors would normally be taken into account in deciding to issue an official warning should be boldly stated on the notice itself, rather than by reference to a website.

"If the price of transparency requires two pages instead of one, why not?"

Victoria's Sheriff, Brendan Facey, and the state's top traffic cop, Robert Hill, said yesterday it was important the traffic camera system be as open and transparent as possible.