Bloody speed cameras!

We all know that speed cameras have nothing to do with safety and are just a revenue raising device for the government. To prove a point you just have to look at the road toll in Western Australia. As of the 30/9/06 the WA road toll was 142, which is 22 more than the same time last year! Usually the governments knee jerk reaction is to buy more speed cameras with the obscene amounts of money they steal from the taxpayer. To make things worse I have just read the following article about how inaccurate the cameras are and how to beat them....

Some speed cameras are faulty

Faulty speed cameras are making drivers fight back in court as they challenge their fines and win, setting legal precedents when they do.

Steve McNaught's $75 speeding fine took him all the way to the NSW Supreme Court. He won the case and the tax payer forked out $30,000 for the Road and Traffic Authority (RTA) legal team's costs.

"They're going to incredible lengths to protect the flawed system," he said.
"They've got to go back to the drawing board and redesign the system."» Fact sheet: Beating speed cameras

The camera reported Steve's car was in lane three, but it was not possible at the time for Steve's car to be in that lane. His lawyer Dennis Miralis said the RTA took the $75 fine all the way but lost.

"Not one camera is without fault, in other words all the cameras which I have issued paperwork on have got significant faults," he said.
"They are putting tax payers' money to run matters where clearly sometimes there is no merit but the RTA's position is they are preserving a significant asset."


Dennis said the problems have to do with the computer system and the missing images and DVDs having to be replaced. His advice is that should you get caught speeding, demand a record of the fine from the camera. "You issue a subpoena, you get the site maintenance log history and each of these logs show constant malfunctions with these cameras," he said.» Related story: Speed camera money spinners

"I am yet to see a log that shows the camera working perfectly and in good order," Mr Miralis claimed. Every time Mr Miralis fronts court trying to get motorists off their fines the RTA sends out its A-team of Queen's counsels, barristers and other lawyers, all costing thousands of dollars a day to beat Dennis.

So far he has had seven victories against the RTA and he has a long list of challenges still to be heard.Lawyer Dennis Miralis can be contacted at Nyman Gibson Stewart Lawyers, (02) 9264 8884.

http://seven.com.au/todaytonight/story/?id=22256

REPORTER: Glenn Connley
BROADCAST DATE: August 4, 2005

Speed cameras can get it wrong

There are an increasing number of motorists who claim they have been the victims of wrong camera readings. They have proven big brother can be beaten.

Dr Wolf Garwoli is one of Australia's foremost radar experts.He said police and private contractors are ignoring simple rules for operating speed cameras.[Related story: Beat speed cameras]"If you have multiple targets in the beam or if you set it up incorrectly whereby you bounce it off the road or you set it up looking into a bend then the radar fails," Dr Garwoli said. Speed camera readings can be affected by other vehicles at intersections, tram and train lines, for sale signs and other real estate signs, traffic signs, bus shelters, phone boxes, letterboxes, metal garages, sheds, fences or parked trucks.

Jeff Bowtell is an experienced private contractor with Tenix, a company which had a contract to run mobile cameras in Victoria

Dr Garwoli and Mr Bowtell have helped many motorists escape their fines but said if you are going to take on the system you have to get it right. [Related story: Beat speeding fines]

• Check the police photo and look for objects which could affect the radar.
• If you see a flash go back to the site and take your own photos which prove the obstruction was there on the day.

There is also an issue with other moving vehicles in the photo. Retired Victorian politician Robyn Cooper exposed a flaw in the system when he challenged police over a second car in the camera's photo. "The police officer assumed it was booking the car he noticed which was going the other way," Mr Cooper said. To contact Dr Wolf Garwoli, write care of your local Today Tonight Office.For more information visit the RoadWatch website: www.roadwatch.com.au.

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I have not written this article to encourage you all to speed on the roads as there are plenty of motorsport events you can paticipate in legally. However it really pisses me off that the government is trying to tell us they are trying to reduce the road toll by buying more cameras when IT OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T WORK! They should be spending the money that they have stolen from taxpayers and put it into defensive driving courses and tightening licensing requirements. I have driven with a few "P" platers and the majority really can't handle a car at all. They must be taught how a car feels when its wheels are locked up or when it gets a little sideways BEFORE they get out on the road and not AFTER they have slid into a power pole and died... little too late then.

I would strongly recommend that you buy a top of the range radar detector, not so that you can speed everywhere with immunity, but so that when you are coasting down a hill on a dual lane highway, on a straight road that hasn't had a fatality in 10 years, and they have a speed camera hidden at the bottom and you are doing 4 kms over the limit... 3 or 4 of those will pay for your detector in no time.

Should I import my own car or buy it here?

A good question. Some people are prepared to take some risk by importing their own car from Japan and save money by doing so. Others prefer going to their local import dealer and buying a car that is clean, licensed, and with everything working and with a warranty. The reason you will save money importing a car yourself compared to buying from a dealer is because you are using your own money to pay for the vehicle in Japan, paying the duty/GST and freight on arrival, then the compliancing and licensing costs. This means that there is virtually no difference in costs between a private importer and a dealer unless the dealer is also a Registered Automotive Workshop (RAW) and obviously pays less for the compliance costs. It will also take a minimum of 2 months from the time you start looking to the time you are on the road in Australia.

However, like most money saving ventures, there are some risks involved. I find it amusing that people want to save money by importing their own car but don't want to take any risks. You have to remember that most of the cars that are being imported to Australia are an average of 10 years old and sometimes 15 years or older and at that age will start developing some sort of problems. When we receive a car it has to have minor panel and done, serviced, complied, detailed and fix any problems that may exist.

When we help people import their own car, we provide a 100% money back guarantee as far as the overall condition of the vehicle is concerned, however we can't guarantee any mechanical or electrical items as it is not possible to check everything as the vehicles cannot be driven at the auctions. As far as cost saving goes, the more expensive the car you buy the more you save. This is because of 2 reasons. The first reason is that the more money a dealer has tied up in a vehicle, the more return on he must get on his investment so the profit margin is greater. The second reason is that the compliance cost doesn't vary much between a Nissan 180SX and a Nissan Skyline R34 so you will save more money on a car that retails for $30,000 than one that retails for $15,000.

So you must ask yourself.. do I want to just go down to my local importer and check the car in person, test drive it, organise finance through the dealer and drive away with a warranty NOW, or do I have the money ready to send to Japan and prepared to wait a couple of months and save some money?