Average speed camera confirmation

Average speed over distance cameras are coming for the N2 and M3 in Cape Town.

Traffic_camerasNMBoulevard

Oh, it’s nice to be right. And I was. Specifically in this case, I was right about those average speed cameras I told you about a couple of weeks ago. Here’s the confirmation on the City website.

‘What this means is that a motorist traveling to or from the CBD along the M3 will be monitored between the UCT footbridge and the footbridge over Nelson Mandela Boulevard, just before the Strand Street off-ramp. The same would apply to a motorist traveling in or out on the N2, from the Main Road bridge. Too often, motorists travel at speeds in excess of the legal limit in this area and we hope that the introduction of the system will result in greater compliance with the law – in line with our commitment to create a safe city,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

Ugh. The only person I’d rather not give our money to than Robin Carlisle is JP Smith. Ugh.

Anyway, it’s coming soon and whether or not you like JP Smith (no, you don’t), speeding is naughty and you will deservedly have to pay much money if you do it. So don’t.

The story on iol has generated some spectacular comments:

Terrible idea. Paying money as a fine does nothing but fund bonuses and end- of- year parties. I highly doubt that it funds road accident victims and their medical expenses (or funerals).

No, you’re thinking of the Road Accident Fund. That’s the one that funds road accident victims.
This cash goes towards other stuff:

The city collects about R150m a year from fines. Mr Smith said the money went to the city’s general budget and was used for service delivery, including housing, water and electricity.

And this guy, calling himself ‘Captain Sensible’, who hasn’t quite worked out the “average speed” bit of the whole thing:

Average speed cameras are a joke. The idiots who speed for the thrill of it will hoema along from the first one at mach 2, then slow down, and piddle through the second at 30km/h, thus rendering the concept pointless.

Well done.

The route in and out of town consists of tempting downhills each way, and this is going to be a licence to print money for the council. But how much? Here’s a helpful guide to spot fines for speeding in the Western Cape:

14708

  • NRTA 93/1996
  • Sect 59(4)(b) r/w: Exceeding speed limit of 80 km/h indicated by Road Sign.
SpeedFine
91 – 94R200.00
95 – 99R400.00
100 – 104R600.00
105 – 109R800.00
110 – 114R1 000.00
115 – 119R1 200.00
120 – 124R1 400.00
125+No AG

“No AG” means a mandatory court appearance. And quite right too.

Let’s hope that it does help to slow people down and that the fines (when actually collected) are used to make a positive difference – although I’d like that to be directed more towards the traffic department.

More average speed cameras coming for Cape Town?

UPDATE: 6th October – this is now CONFIRMED

Eagle-eyed motorists will have noticed some new cameras going up on the N2 and the M3 in Cape Town. They’re on the footbridge at the Searle Street junction of the Nelson Mandela Boulevard in Woodstock, and then, heading further out of town, the footbridge on the M3 at UCT and the Main Road bridge over the Settlers Way bit of the N2.

I’m no expert in speed enforcement camera technology, but this has got ASOD written all over it:
Average Speed Over Distance.
What that means is that your number plate will be read by the camera and your journey from Woodstock to UCT (or Mowbray on the N2) and vice versa is going to be timed. Once they know how long it took you to get from A to B, it’s a simple matter to calculate how fast you were going. Since the speed limit on these bits of road is 80kph, if you average more than that, you’re going to be in trouble.

These schemes have already been used (successfully, we’re told) on the M5, the R27 and the infamous R61 near Beaufort West – the longest ASOD in the world at 72km.

Transport MEC Robin Carlisle’s office said: “Prior to the initial implementation on the R61 stretch from Beaufort West to Aberdeen, there had been a reported 509 crashes in total, 75 of which being fatal crashes resulting in the loss of 149 lives – this over the previous 12 years.
Since the implementation of Asod on the R61 stretch, we have received no reports of any fatal crashes on that stretch.”

And we were also told that this bit of road was one that they were going to be targeting in the future.

I don’t think that the rush hour traffic will be affected by this – you’re lucky if you can get up to 20kph, let alone 80. But that nice long hill down into town down Nelson Mandela Boulevard and the equally tempting dash down Hospital Bend on the way out are going to make this a big money spinner for the authorities out of hours.

Not that I’m saying that speeding motorists shouldn’t be prosecuted. Of course they should: they’re a danger to everyone around them. But given this quote from Carlisle:

“We’ll have a nice nanny state,” he said. “It’s going to be a pleasure to drive in the Western Cape once we’ve got these roads covered.”

I just wish that it wasn’t being done by such a smug twat.