Articles by Jackson Gothe-Snape

Police will launch a blitz on cyclists flouting road rules to coincide with the flood of amateur riders hitting the streets for the Santos Tour Down Under.

According to speed camera locations published by police and collated throughout 2014, Tapleys Hill Road in Glenelg North is South Australia's most common mobile speed camera location with deployments on 62 days.South Tce, last month identified by News Corp Australia as the state's highest-earning site, is the eighth-most common site, police placing a camera there once a week on average during 2014.The major commuter route does not feature prominently in road-crash casualty statistics, and the Opposition has called for greater clarity in the way police select camera sites.A police spokeswoman argued that "the purpose of mobile speed cameras is to create a general deterrent that prevents motorists from breaking the law".She said 59 collisions were recorded along South Tce in 2013-14, including one resulting in a serious injury."If motorists continue to break the law then it is important that the deployment is maintained, particularly at a location that includes playgrounds and recreational parks, schools and has a history of intoxicated pedestrians," she said."The alternative for SAPOL would be to know that South Tce was a location for frequent speeding but ignore it." However, the police's own guidelines state there must be an "equitable presence" of speed cameras.Opposition transport spokesman Corey Wingard, who is calling for an inquiry into camera deployments, says this is unclear."You wouldn't want to think it's about spreading it around in places to make sure we're picking up people in all different areas," he said."People are very confused at the moment and the Government needs to be more transparent," he said.There is also a requirement in the guidelines that police consider four years of recent crash data, with specific mention of fatalities and serious injuries, when choosing sites.No South Tce fatalities were recorded by the Planning, Transport and Infrastructure Department in 2009-13.TAPLEYS HILL RD GLENELG NORTH - 62SOUTH TCE POORAKA - 59MAIN NORTH RD BLAIR ATHOL - 56MAIN SOUTH RD O'HALLORAN HILL - 56THE COVE RD HALLETT COVE - 53ADELPHI TCE GLENELG NORTH - 53MURRAY ST NURIOOTPA - 51SOUTH TCE ADELAIDE - 50SIR DONALD BRADMAN DR BROOKLYN PARK - 50GRAND JUNCTION RD HOPE VALLEY - 45Source: SAPOL website between 13 January and 21 December, 2014.

The state's mobile speed trap hot spots have been revealed amid calls for an inquiry into cameras' impact on road safety.

Motorists detected driving past speed cameras at up to 9km/h over the limit are not being fined, new police figures show.The Motor Accident Commission spent $700,000 last financial year on road safety, including warning drivers about the dangers of creeping over the limit.But the police figures show 'creepers' are not being penalised when they pass the state's 120-plus fixed and speed cameras.Offences detected by cameras account for 82 per cent of speeding fines issued. The margins above the speed limit at which they generate fines varies according to the speed zone, police data published on a State Government website has revealed.The figures show the margins range from 7km/h at lower speed limits to 9km/h in higher zones.But these fines account for only a small proportion of the almost 212,000 fines issued last financial year.People should always travel at or just below the speed limitThe Motor Accident Commission launched its 'Creepers' campaign in October 2012 to highlight the dangers of low-level speeding.It included graphic images to illustrate the potential trauma caused by motorists who speed by even a small margin.Police Assistant Commissioner Noel Bamford said there was "a tolerance in each speed bracket" but he urged drivers to "stick to the limit".He said police "policy is not to discuss or reveal these as we believe it will essentially set a default speed limit on the roads"."With the help of speed cameras, we have reduced the speeds travelled across the road network," he said.In response to the release of police data, MAC general manager for road safety Michael Cornish urged drivers to take responsibility for observing speed limits."When motorists exceed the speed limit, they place not only themselves but others at risk," Mr Cornish said.The RAA said the release of the speeding-fine data should not encourage motorists to speed."People should always travel at or just below the speed limit," RAA road safety manager Charles Mountain said."The tolerance level is just to provide for fluctuations in speed which occur due to people's ability to drive for long periods at the limit and that particularly older vehicles will read slightly below or above the real speed level." The State Government said police "have always had the discretion about expiating motorists for road offences".But it added that no one "should believe for one second that speeding is acceptable".Police data on all camera speeding fines issued in 2013/14 shows: LOWEST speeding offence in a 40km/h zone was 48km/hLOWEST speeding fine in a 50km/h zone was 58km/hLOWEST speeding offence in a 80km/h zone was 89km/hLOWEST speeding offence in a 100km/h zone was 110km/hLOWEST speeding offence in a 110km/h zone was 120km/hMORE than 99 per cent of speeding camera fines in a 60km/h zone were issued to motorists travelling at 68km/h or above.Only 53 non-camera speeding fines issued last financial year in 40, 50, 60 and 80km/h zones were below the camera tolerance levels.The police fines data is published on the State Government's data.sa.gov.au website, created last year by Premier Jay Weatherill to make government department and agency information available to the public.The data also shows Adelaide's speed camera hot spots.Although they began operation only last December, the two speed cameras on the South Eastern Freeway, at Crafers and near the toll gate, were among the top three revenue raisers last financial year.The cameras caught 14,400 speeding motorists.The top speed camera for the number of fines issued was at Montague Rd, Ingle Farm.MOBILE/FIXED SPEED CAMERA FINES 2013/14 Description of offence: Exceed Speed Limit 40 km/h Total records for this speed zone: 4586 Lowest vehicle speed: 48Description of offence: Exceed Speed Limit 50 km/h Total records for this speed zone: 62988Lowest vehicle speed: 58 Description of offence: Exceed Speed Limit 60 km/h Total records for this speed zone: 88303 Lowest vehicle speed: 68*Description of offence: Exceed Speed Limit 80 km/h Total records for this speed zone: 9380 Lowest vehicle speed: 89 Description of offence: Exceed Speed Limit 100 km/h Total records for this speed zone: 6252 Lowest vehicle speed: 110 Description of offence: Exceed Speed Limit 110 km/h Total records for this speed zone: 848 Lowest vehicle speed: 120*Excluding 14 fines under review by SAPOLTOP TEN SPEED CAMERA SITESMontague Rd, INGLE FARM - 10061 fines - $3,370,643 SE Freeway, LEAWOOD GARDENS - 8227 fines - $3,628,213 SE Freeway, CRAFERS - 6171 fines - $2,993,211 South Rd, CLOVELLY PARK - 4008 fines - $1,426,486 Glover Ave Bakewell (Underpass), ADELAIDE - 3856 fines - $1,333,850 King William Rd/Sir Edwin Smith Ave, NORTH ADELAIDE - 3751 fines - $1,222,763South Rd, BLACKFOREST - 3680 fines - $1,426,793 Portrush Rd, TRINITY GARDENS - 3275 fines - $1,101,817 Cross Rd, KINGSWOOD - 3222 fines - $1,126,447 Grote St/West Tce, ADELAIDE - 2807 fines - $947,852FINE METHOD 45% Fixed camera37% Mobile camera18% OtherTOTAL OF ALL SPEEDING FINES: 211,886WEIRD FINES 2013/1416 Driving motor vehicle with TV receiver operating 20 Driving with radar detecting device 163 Driving the wrong way on a one-way road 4 Increasing speed when overtaken by another driver