Average speed cameras will be switched on to warning mode for light vehicles in two key regional locations from 1 May.
The trial, a recommendation from the 2024 NSW Road Safety Forum, will see the NSW Government flick the switch on cameras which measure a 15km stretch of the Pacific Highway between Kew and Lake Innes and cameras on the Hume Highway which measure a 16km stretch between Coolac and Gundagai to capture speeding light vehicles.
These two stretches have been chosen based on several factors, including known crash history. There were a combined total of six fatalities and 33 serious injuries between 2018 and 2022 at these locations.
In NSW average speed cameras only enforce speeding offences for heavy vehicles, however data shows that in the past five years (2018-2022) almost 80% of all fatalities and serious injuries across all existing 31 average speed camera lengths in NSW did not involve a heavy vehicle.
NSW is unique in that it's the only place known to use these cameras for just a subset of vehicles. Most other Australian jurisdictions either use Average Speed Cameras for all vehicles or plan to do so in the future. Studies from around the world have shown that average speed enforcement for all vehicles leads to significant reductions in crash-related injuries and fatalities.
The trial will have a two-month warning letter period for light vehicle drivers caught speeding on both lengths of road before it is switched to full enforcement mode. From 1 July, those detected speeding will face fines and demerit point penalties. Existing enforcement of heavy vehicle offences at these sites will be unaffected by the trial.
A comprehensive communications campaign will begin to roll out before the warning letter period to help alert motorists to the trial.
Road signs will notify all drivers that their speed is being monitored by the cameras on the trial stretches, giving them the opportunity to adjust their speed as needed.
The average speed camera trial builds on other road safety initiatives introduced by the Minns Labor Government, including:
- seatbelt enforcement by the existing mobile phone camera detection network
- removing a loophole to force all motorists driving on a foreign licence to convert to a NSW licence within six months
- the demerit return trial that rewarded more than 1 million drivers for maintaining a demerit-offence-free driving record during the second year of the trial
- doubling roadside enforcement sites used for mobile speed cameras, with the addition of 2,700 new locations where a camera can be deployed. Enforcement hours will remain the same
- hosting the state's first Road Safety Forum with international and local experts
- signed National Road Safety Data Agreement with the Commonwealth
Minister for Roads, John Graham said:
"We know that speed remains our biggest killer on the road, contributing to 41 per cent of all fatalities over the past decade.
"Studies from around the world show that using average speed enforcement cameras for all vehicles reduces the road toll, and road trauma.
"We know the trial will be a change for motorists in New South Wales, so it will be supported by community and stakeholder communications. All average speed camera locations have warning signs installed.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison said:
"Regional NSW is home to a third of the population but is where two-thirds of all road deaths happen.
"With the majority of road trauma occurring in our regions we have chosen two regional locations to test the impact these cameras could have on road safety for all road users.
"I know this trial will be a change, particularly for regional people who travel through the areas where these two camera lengths are in place, which is why we are committed to ensuring that the community is aware of what we are doing.
"We will have a communications strategy in place including the use of print, radio and social media as well as variable messaging signs and mobile billboards to help communicate the trial details to drivers and riders.
"We will also have clear warning signs installed before the enforcement sites, but most importantly we will have a 60 day warning period in place so that people have an opportunity to adjust their driving behaviour before they receive a penalty."
Background
- Enforcement of average speed is generally considered a fair form of enforcement as drivers demonstrate intentional and consistent speeding behaviour over a long length of road and/or time, not only at a single point.
- Research conducted in New South Wales in 2024 found that 68 per cent of respondents thought that average speed cameras were important in making New South Wales roads safer.
- A 2015 study in Norway found that average speed cameras cut deaths and serious injuries by 49%. Similarly, a 2016 study in the United Kingdom showed a 36% reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes with the use of average speed cameras.
- Average speed cameras in NSW have cut fatalities and serious injuries from crashes involving heavy vehicles. There was a reduction on fatalities and serious injuries from crashes involving heavy vehicles at average speed camera locations of about 50%, when data from the five years before they were installed is compared to the five years after installation.
- The Road Transport Act 2013 (the Act) was amended in October 2024 so that average speed cameras can enforce speeding by all vehicle types.
- The trial will run for 14 months in total. (2 months in warning mode, 12 months in enforcement)
- Warning mode will begin on 1 May, enforcement mode will begin on 1 July.
- The NSW Government will report back to Parliament on the outcomes of the trial in 2026, consistent with legislative changes made in late 2024.
