The first speeding infringement this truckie was prepared to take on the chin, but two from the same day has the experienced Queensland driver seeing red.
A recent $464 fine along with three demerit points for speeding in Barcaldine in a triple road train was from an incident he says was clearly his fault and he has no plans to contest.
But for the life of him, the driver, who did not want to be named or identify his truck for fear it could be detrimental to the review process, can’t fathom how he could be fined an identical penalty in Torrens Creek for allegedly doing 74km/h in a 60km/h zone a few hours later.
The truckie had been coming north from Barcaldine through Aramac, so drove over the railway line before turning right on to the Flinders Highway at Torrens Creek.
“I’ve measured it on Google Maps and from where I’ve come on to the Flinders Highway to where the speed camera was is 1.5km and they claim I’ve got that road train up to 74km/h in that distance,” the frustrated truckie told Big Rigs.
“I’ve got a bit of an issue with that. With all the other issues people have had with this camera I believe there is a drama there somewhere.
“To say I have got a fully-loaded road train to that sort of pace over that distance is stretching the friendship for what they’re trying to ping me for.”
The truckie said he’ll more than likely dispute the fine through the normal channels, even fronting in court if he has to, but he doesn’t want to pay, even though that can be the cheaper option, because it would be an admission of guilt.
He’s also approached local MP Robbie Katter”s office in Charters Towers in the hope he can spark a formal investigation into the accuracy of the cameras in question.
The truckie is adamant that he could provide conclusive proof of his innocence by loading the truck with a similar weight and taking off from a standing start.
“You’ve just got to clock any loaded road train from a standing start over 1.5km and see how fast he gets to.”
Big Rigs was first alerted to issues with the speed cameras in the tiny outback town earlier this year, with several sources questioning their accuracy.
When we asked TMR for comment, a spokesperson said all cameras have been calibrated independently from the camera vendor, with a number of checks to ensure their accuracy:
· Firstly, the cameras must be independently calibrated.
· When the trailer is setup, the speed of vehicles recorded from the trailer is reviewed by using a different speed camera device to ensure they are both measuring the same speeds. The trailer will not go into enforcement mode until after this verification.
· All offences detected are verified using a secondary verification method where two images of the vehicle taken are reviewed to check their speed, using time over distance calculations. Only offences supported by the secondary verification are sent for adjudication.
When Big Rigs asked why TMR decided to put speed cameras in the town, the department told us that the Torrens Creek location has shown excessive amounts of speeding.
“Infringement numbers are not available but approximately 3000 offences were detected for speeding prior to the verification and adjudication process.”
TMR also said that in 2022 along there were 88 fatalities involving speeding drivers/riders in this “general location”.
“When a motorist exceeds the legal speed limit, they are endangering themselves and other innocent road users. The Queensland Government is working to prevent any serious injuries and deaths from occurring on Queensland roads and the speed camera program is a vital tool to enable us to achieve this goal.”
Seeing there have been 88 fatalities in that general area in 2022 one would assume that the condition of the road must have something to do with the cause of those fatalities .
Vote them out at the next election maybe they will start to take notice of that