Speeding is one of the most common traffic offences, and one of the most costly. Whether it’s exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for the conditions, the penalties can be significant. This article outlines the types of speeding offences, associated fines and demerit points, and what drivers should be aware of when it comes to speed detection devices.
Offences and Penalties
There are two types of speeding offences: driving above the speed limit; and driving at an unsafe speed in a particular context.
The penalty for driving above the speed limit depends on how fast you’re going. There are five levels:
- Driving less than 11 kph over the speed limit – 1 demerit point and a $322 fine;
- Driving at least 11 kph, but less than 20 kph, over the speed limit – 3 demerit points and a $483 fine;
- Driving more than 20 kph, but less than 30 kph, over the speed limit – 4 demerit points and a $725 fine;
- Driving more than 30 kph, but less than 40 kph, over the speed limit – 6 demerit points and a $1209 fine;
- Driving more than 40 kph over the speed limit – 8 demerit points and an $1854 fine.
You can also be fined for driving at an unsafe speed when approaching a pedestrian crossing or children’s crossing. Each of these will land you with a loss of the 3 demerit points. However, the police can’t just hand these penalties out on the roadside – you’ll need to be convicted by a court, and the court also has discretion to determine the appropriate penalty.
Speedometers and Speed Cameras
Speedometers
How accurate is your speedometer, really? It depends.
By law, vehicles manufactured on or after 1 July 2006 are required to display a speed greater than or equal to the true speed: that is, they must be designed so that if you treat the speedometer as accurate, you will never speed – though you may end up driving slower than the speed limit. There is a limit on how much greater the displayed speed can be than the true speed – it cannot exceed 4 kph above 110% of the true speed. However, during the testing phase, only a few speeds are actually tested – the lowest of these is 40 kph. Thus, your speedometer can legally show a speed lower than your true speed, or higher than 10% + 4 kph above your true speed, at speeds of less than 40 kph.
Watch out if your car was manufactured before July 2006. Back then, Speedometers were merely required to be accurate to within 10% of actual speed; either above or below.
Just because your speedometer was roughly accurate at the date of manufacture doesn’t mean that you’re set for life. Speedometers measure speed based on wheel rotations; so anything that changes the ratio of wheel rotations to distance travelled will throw your speedometer off. Worn tyre tread, changes in tyre temperature and pressure, and the weight of your load can all affect your effective tyre size and hence the accuracy of your speedometer (albeit marginally).
What can cause a much greater issue is changing your actual tyre size. If you own a 4 x 4, for instance, and upgrade to substantially larger tyres, your speedometer may substantially underestimate your speed and will put you at risk of speeding unawares.
You might think that the answer is a GPS speedometer; and generally these are more accurate than the inbuilt speedometer in your vehicle. There are two practical issues however. First, GPS systems experience blackouts in tunnels and amongst tall buildings. This can result in no, or inaccurate, readings. Secondly, GPS speedometers tend to only consider the horizontal distance travelled when calculating speed; rather than the total distance travelled. However, this is less of an issue than is commonly supposed. A 10% gradient will only throw the calibration out by 0.5%; even on a 20% gradient it will only reach 2%.
Speed Cameras
Obviously we’re all law-abiding citizens here, but we’ve all wondered at some point – just for peace of mind – are all the fixed speed cameras signed? Yes, fortunately. Although there’s no law requiring them to do so, the Queensland Government does state that in practice it places signs before all fixed speed cameras. Of course, the same doesn’t go for moveable speed cameras.
Point-to-Point Speed Cameras
Everyone knows the feeling of frustration of wondering when it’s safe to stop driving 10 kph under the speed limit … how far do average speed camera systems extend? If you’re under the impression that surely they don’t go for more than 5 km, well, you might be in for a nasty shock. The shortest of the point-to-point systems, in the Legacy Way tunnel, extends for around 3.5 km; but the longest (on the Toowoomba Bypass) is over 30 km. There are four other point-to-point systems in the State; three of them on the Highways around Ipswich, and the other one on the Bruce Highway between Elimbah and Landsborough.
If you’re thinking to yourself that you swear you’ve seen average speed camera signs elsewhere, you’re probably right. Sometimes, signs are put up even though any plans to install the cameras are still tentative; perhaps because signs are much cheaper than cameras, but just as good at deterring speeding (as long as the secret doesn’t get out). For instance, there’s a 9 km stretch of the M1 between Boondall and Deagon that has had signs up for over two years, but as at the time of writing there are actually no cameras there.
Facing a speeding charge?
Vocare Law is well equipped to assist in traffic matters with a wealth of collective knowledge and decades experience providing advice and representation in the area of criminal and traffic. Please don’t hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions on 1300-VOC-LAW / 1300-862-529 or email: enquiry@vocarelaw.com.au
This article was written by Martin Churchill.
