A 10km/h reduction in the speed along Windang Road has led to a massive increase in speeding fines.
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According to Office of State Revenue Figures, the red-light speed camera at the Windang Road-Boronia Avenue intersection nabbed 6634 speeders for a total of $1.13 million in fines in the last financial year.
That’s an almost tenfold increase on the 2016-17 fine amount of $125,079.
And it’s a change in the speed limit in May 2017 that is the cause of the massive surge.
After a series of accidents, a Roads and Maritime Services review found a need to drop the speed limit through the Windang CBD from 70km/h to 60km/h.
This was due to a high crash rate, the level of roadside development and the amount of pedestrian activity on Windang Road.
READ MORE: Windang Road’s 80km/h zone is okay
That reduction in the speed limit led to an immediate spike in people caught speeding.
In May 2017 there were 61 speeding fines and two months later in July that skyrocketed to 828 (in June speeders were sent a warning letter rather than a fine).
While the number of drivers caught speeding through Windang has been dropping through 2016-17 - reaching 437 in June 2018 – the figures are still substantially above those of the previous year.
In 2016-17 the camera caught an average of 49 speeding drivers a month while in the last financial year, the average was 552.
According to the 2017 annual review of speed cameras, the camera at this intersection is improving safety as well as catching more speeders.
That review found that fatal and serious crashes at the intersection had fallen by 33 per cent when comparing the five years before installation to the five years up to the end of 2016.
A Transport for NSW spokesman said all revenue from red-light and speed cameras went into the Community Road Safety Fund, which is used to pay for road safety initiatives.
“All speed and red-light camera locations in NSW, including the red-light speed camera on Windang Road, are clearly signposted,” the spokesman said.
“All drivers have a responsibility to follow the road rules and this includes driving at the signposted speed limit.”