31 August 2013

Athllon drive pervasive surveillance kicks off

| johnboy
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Simon Corbell is announcing he’ll be watching you down Athllon Drive:

The ACT’s second point to point road safety camera system at Athllon Drive will start operating from Friday, 6 September 2013, Attorney-General, Simon Corbell announced today.

“The Athllon Drive point to point cameras will operate in both directions, between Beasley Street in Mawson and Drakeford Drive in Tuggeranong,” Mr Corbell said.

“Curbing speeding on our roads is critical, as national crash statistics identify speeding as a major factor in around 30% of fatal crashes.”

The installation of the Athllon Drive point to point camera system follows the installation of a point to point camera on Hindmarsh Drive in February 2012.

The camera sites were chosen based on a Forward Design Study and advice from an independent engineering consultant, who applied a 50:50 weighting of safety and traffic factors. This takes into account the need to influence the driving behaviour of a large number of motorists, while also reducing the potential for crashes at locations which have historically experienced higher numbers of crashes.

“ACT crash data shows there were 568 crashes on the Athllon Drive corridor from Beasley Street to Drakeford Drive, including crashes at the intersections with those roads, between 2008 and 2012,” Mr Corbell said.

“This included 40 crashes where people were injured.”

During testing of the Athllon Drive point to point cameras, cars were detected at average speeds of 103km/h southbound and 116km/h northbound, despite the presence of roundabouts.

“As these are average speeds, those vehicles would have been travelling at speeds well above that at various points between the two camera detection points,” Mr Corbell said.

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JC said :

dungfungus said :

pink little birdie also swoops like a magpie, ouch!

I can only say that if I didn’t know that a lot of other Canberrans don’t know it either.

Can the AFP Media people do a follow-up?

The law changed at least 10 years ago now. And it is up to drivers to regularly check for changes to rules, and when travelling interstate to check for different rules in each state. Though with national road rules the latter doesn’t apply as much as it used to but there are still minor variations.

Thanks for the lecture, JC.

wildturkeycanoe11:26 pm 04 Nov 16

dungfungus said :

I can only say that if I didn’t know that a lot of other Canberrans don’t know it either.
Can the AFP Media people do a follow-up?

I think they know thew rule but just don’t have any respect for the rule or for other drivers who would like to drive at the speed limit. Then they go off about tailgating, wondering why there is so much rage.
Another thing, the law has not been recently changed, it has always been like that as far as I know. If Canberra drivers do not know this rule, they need to go back to driving school for a refresher.
Another thing hitting Facebook recently is people being booked for driving with their fog lights on when it isn’t foggy. I don’t necessarily agree with this rule, considering there are normal low beams and running lights that are way brighter than fog lamps. Fog lights shine low, along the road and spread out, whilst poorly adjusted low beams with high intensity bulbs are much worse on the eyes. I think there needs to be a blitz on headlights in general and a revision on the rules around how bright they are allowed to be in lumens. Modern lights are much more dazzling than even the 100w halogens of old. I am constantly finding myself squinting away from oncoming cars due to this issue, but nobody is getting booked for them.

Back to the topic, the point to point cameras won’t make much revenue because after they are installed and the large warning signs are erected, nobody will speed through that stretch of road unless they don’t care about the fine or aren’t familiar with the road and missed the signs. It is like the permanent speed cameras around Canberra. If you are dumb enough to speed through one, you obviously didn’t heed the multitude of signs and are a willing donor.

dungfungus said :

I wasn’t aware the law had been changed…

It’s only been that way since the Australian Road Rules were introduced in 1999.

In other recent changes, it’s mandatory to wear a seat belt, and there’s no longer a requirement for a man to walk in front of your car carrying a red flag. 😉

creative_canberran7:14 pm 04 Nov 16

James-T-Kirk said :

And here we are just 3 years later and ALL TRACES of the cameras have been removed….

as though nothing was ever there.

Looks like the cameras weren’t raking in the millions they expected….

Does anybody know the actual story?

Minister admitted they were poorly planned and the road conditions meant it was very unlikely anyone would be caught. I mean, intersections, roundabouts, you would have to be flooring it in between in / off-peak traffic to set off the camera.

Despite this, since the camera went in, heaps of people were obviously nervous and would do 60 along there despite the 80 limit. Really annoying, created more congestion.

The other annoying thing is there’s a notorious spot at the end of the P-P zone that does need a safety camera. The intersection of Drakeford and Athlon, where every single time the Athlon right turn lane get’s a green, at least a couple of cars continue through the red once it changes and once the Drakeford traffic has the green. Downright dangerous and they’d make a mint if they had a camera, or put a cop car there.

dungfungus said :

pink little birdie also swoops like a magpie, ouch!

I can only say that if I didn’t know that a lot of other Canberrans don’t know it either.

Can the AFP Media people do a follow-up?

The law changed at least 10 years ago now. And it is up to drivers to regularly check for changes to rules, and when travelling interstate to check for different rules in each state. Though with national road rules the latter doesn’t apply as much as it used to but there are still minor variations.

La_Tour_Maubourg1:27 pm 04 Nov 16

Obviously the cameras were installed for the purposes of revenue otherwise there would be an announcement on how well the cameras have deterred speeding (and to continue this trend, would not have been removed.)
If the Hindmarsh cameras cease to detect a bulk of speeding motorists, would they also be removed?
Double standards.

pink little birdie said :

dungfungus said :

wildturkeycanoe said :

If placed on the Parkway, can the speed cameras also please be used to identify and fine cars that sit in the right hand lane and do ten to fifteen kilometers per hour slower than the posted limit, without letting faster vehicles pass? It is almost impossible to get a speeding ticket in Canberra because of the slow drivers who take up the fast lanes.

That’s because it in not illegal to drive in that lane in the ACT as it is in most other jurisdictions.

Yes it is – It’s a national law and applies to all multilane roads greater than 80km’s per hour. The parkway’s speed limit is greater than 80km per hour,
See page 79 of the ACT Road Rules handbook.
http://www.rego.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/565029/2015-Road-Rules-Handbook-Accessible-Version.pdf

pink little birdie also swoops like a magpie, ouch!

I can only say that if I didn’t know that a lot of other Canberrans don’t know it either.

Can the AFP Media people do a follow-up?

TinyTank said :

dungfungus said :

wildturkeycanoe said :

If placed on the Parkway, can the speed cameras also please be used to identify and fine cars that sit in the right hand lane and do ten to fifteen kilometers per hour slower than the posted limit, without letting faster vehicles pass? It is almost impossible to get a speeding ticket in Canberra because of the slow drivers who take up the fast lanes.

That’s because it in not illegal to drive in that lane in the ACT as it is in most other jurisdictions.

Taken from 2015 ACT Road Rules Handbook (page 79): http://www.rego.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/565029/2015-Road-Rules-Handbook-Accessible-Version.pdf

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road
This rule applies on a multi-lane road
where:
• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; or
• a keep left unless overtaking sign
applies.
You must not drive in the right lane
unless:
• you are turning right, or making a U–
turn from the centre of the road, and
are giving a right turn signal;
• you are overtaking;
• a left lane must turn left sign or left
traffic lane arrows apply to any other
lane and you are not turning left;
• you are required to drive in the right
lane;
• you are avoiding an obstruction;
• the traffic in the other lanes is
congested; or
• the traffic in every lane is congested.
A keep left unless overtaking sign on a multi-lane road applies to the length of
road beginning at the sign and ending at the nearest of the following:
• an end keep left unless overtaking sign
on the road;
• a traffic sign or road marking on the
road indicating that it is no longer a
multi-lane road;
• if the road ends at a T–intersection or
dead end — the end of the road.

I wasn’t aware the law had been changed but as they say, “ignorance is no excuse”.

I got it wrong, sorry.

dungfungus said :

wildturkeycanoe said :

If placed on the Parkway, can the speed cameras also please be used to identify and fine cars that sit in the right hand lane and do ten to fifteen kilometers per hour slower than the posted limit, without letting faster vehicles pass? It is almost impossible to get a speeding ticket in Canberra because of the slow drivers who take up the fast lanes.

That’s because it in not illegal to drive in that lane in the ACT as it is in most other jurisdictions.

Taken from 2015 ACT Road Rules Handbook (page 79): http://www.rego.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/565029/2015-Road-Rules-Handbook-Accessible-Version.pdf

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road
This rule applies on a multi-lane road
where:
• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; or
• a keep left unless overtaking sign
applies.
You must not drive in the right lane
unless:
• you are turning right, or making a U–
turn from the centre of the road, and
are giving a right turn signal;
• you are overtaking;
• a left lane must turn left sign or left
traffic lane arrows apply to any other
lane and you are not turning left;
• you are required to drive in the right
lane;
• you are avoiding an obstruction;
• the traffic in the other lanes is
congested; or
• the traffic in every lane is congested.
A keep left unless overtaking sign on a multi-lane road applies to the length of
road beginning at the sign and ending at the nearest of the following:
• an end keep left unless overtaking sign
on the road;
• a traffic sign or road marking on the
road indicating that it is no longer a
multi-lane road;
• if the road ends at a T–intersection or
dead end — the end of the road.

pink little birdie10:04 am 04 Nov 16

dungfungus said :

wildturkeycanoe said :

If placed on the Parkway, can the speed cameras also please be used to identify and fine cars that sit in the right hand lane and do ten to fifteen kilometers per hour slower than the posted limit, without letting faster vehicles pass? It is almost impossible to get a speeding ticket in Canberra because of the slow drivers who take up the fast lanes.

That’s because it in not illegal to drive in that lane in the ACT as it is in most other jurisdictions.

Yes it is – It’s a national law and applies to all multilane roads greater than 80km’s per hour. The parkway’s speed limit is greater than 80km per hour,
See page 79 of the ACT Road Rules handbook.
http://www.rego.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/565029/2015-Road-Rules-Handbook-Accessible-Version.pdf

wildturkeycanoe said :

If placed on the Parkway, can the speed cameras also please be used to identify and fine cars that sit in the right hand lane and do ten to fifteen kilometers per hour slower than the posted limit, without letting faster vehicles pass? It is almost impossible to get a speeding ticket in Canberra because of the slow drivers who take up the fast lanes.

That’s because it in not illegal to drive in that lane in the ACT as it is in most other jurisdictions.

wildturkeycanoe6:32 am 04 Nov 16

If placed on the Parkway, can the speed cameras also please be used to identify and fine cars that sit in the right hand lane and do ten to fifteen kilometers per hour slower than the posted limit, without letting faster vehicles pass? It is almost impossible to get a speeding ticket in Canberra because of the slow drivers who take up the fast lanes.

Yeah, anyone who got a ticket in the mail for speeding in those sections should keep it – they will become valuable as collectors’ items, being so rare.

We should not get a false sense of security however as the mobile vans will now be there to avenge the ex-minister’s failure.

James-T-Kirk said :

And here we are just 3 years later and ALL TRACES of the cameras have been removed….

as though nothing was ever there.

Looks like the cameras weren’t raking in the millions they expected….

Does anybody know the actual story?

Not enough people were caught by the camera to make it profitable. The disastrous design where half the traffic on Athllon Dr were not covered by the speed distance camera was ‘unsurprisingly’ unsuccessful.

I don’t know where the camera’s are now going, but I heard there was a Ministerial push (against expert advice) to move the cameras to the Tuggeranong Parkway. Starting at Drakeford/Sulwood and ending just before the Arboretum.

Imagine how bad the Tuggeranong parkway would be mixing traffic that started from Drakeford resolutely sticking to around 95kmh with other traffic that entered from Hindmarsh and Cotter road who are not affected by the distance speed camera. Crazy stuff if the Minister gets her way. Is it still Meegan Fitzharris? I think there might have been a split in responsibilities since the election.

It has been noted in the past that the Ministers don’t put these distance camera’s in their own Electoral backyard or on the drive between their home and workplace.

It’s bad enough on Hindmarsh Drive going over Red Hill when a BMW that get’s to turn off early before the second speed camera at Mugga Way burns up the road at 110km past everyone else doing about 75kmh.

James-T-Kirk11:46 am 03 Nov 16

And here we are just 3 years later and ALL TRACES of the cameras have been removed…. as though nothing was ever there.

Looks like the cameras weren’t raking in the millions they expected….

Does anybody know the actual story?

HiddenDragon11:08 am 31 Aug 13

Wouldn’t it be nice if a similar state of the art, high tech, “you are being watched at all times” approach could be brought to bear to keep our elected and unelected officials accountable for their actions and inactions – no fudging, no wriggle room, no plausible deniability, no changing the subject, no arguing that everyone else does it, too. Dream on…..

During testing of the Athllon Drive point to point cameras, cars were detected at average speeds of 103km/h southbound and 116km/h northbound, despite the presence of roundabouts.

Which tells me that they were in a real hurry to get out of Tuggers, can’t say I blame ’em..

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