Speed cameras in Australia
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Speed Cameras are used in Australia to enforce speed limits.
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[edit] Gatso Mobile Speed Camera
These cameras come in two sorts: the one way camera, which consists of a black rectangular box, about 30cm by 10, mounted on the front of the car, with a [cable] used to link it to a box with a flash placed 5-10m down the road. The operator sits in the car and takes the pictures. This camera is used in bad light and on rainy days. The two way camera is the above apparatus, minus the flash, and can detect speeding vehicles traveling in both directions, where as the one way can only detect vehicles which travel directly past it.
[edit] Multanova Mobile Speed Camera
Used only in Western Australia, this camera is mounted usually on a tripod on the side of the road and is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "Multinova". Multanovas are manufactured by a Swiss company of the same name and Western Australia utilises the 6F and 9F models, which have an error margin of +/-3km/h, while the Western Australian police set the leniency of the cameras to 8km/h.
The 8km/h "buffer zone" avoids fining the motorist who has unwarily crept above the set limit, and instead aims to catch deliberate speeders. The camera will photograph a speeding vehicle at an average distance of 12 meters.
During the daytime, the Multanova unit uses a standard "white" flash, but in low light or night time, it will use a red flash to avoid dazzling the driver.
The unit is estimated to be worth roughly $100 000, while the relatively small black box on the top, consisting of the circuitry and photographic unit, is worth $30 000 alone.
The camera is always accompanied by a white station wagon manned by an un-sworn police officer- not a contractor as is commonly thought- who is responsible for assembling and dissembling the unit, supervising it and operating the accompanying laptop in the car for the few hours that it is deployed at a location. There are currently roughly 20 in circulation in Perth.
[edit] Fixed Speed Camera
These cameras come in many forms, some free standing on poles, others mounted on bridges etc. The camera consist generally of a box for taking, holding photographs etc, and a smaller box for the flash. Recently introduced are infra-red cameras, which do not give visible flash.
[edit] Red Light Camera
The most common and probably most wide spread camera is the red light camera, which are a common sight at intersections in cities and large towns. They consist of a camera on one pole and flash on another, except in Western Australia where the unit is a single yellow box on a pole. They are normally Gatso Meter brand.
[edit] Speed and Red Light Camera
These were recently introduced to intersections in Victoria, and detect speeding at the intersection as well as running a red light. They look the same as red light cameras, except they look slightly more modern. They are Traffipax brand.
[edit] References
- Department of Justice - Speed Cameras - Victoria
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