fines for traffic offences suggest South Australia’s regime is revenue raising

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by hedgehobb

But the fact remains, you chose not to go to court.

I'm not saying the system doesn't suck, but it's the best we got. Unless you want something like Judge Dredd on your ***.

edit: or worse, American cops, shoot your *** because you disrespected them

edit 2: oh, and for all those suffering from supiditis and complaining "Woe is me, I can't fathom these dog-garnit fandanged speed road limits consarnit!"

Get a sat nav! Get someone to program it to beep if you go over the limit ffs

The report then examines the public’s resistance to South Australia’s highest-in-the-nation fines regime.

“..there is one sticking point and this is evident in community reaction to the lack of harmonisation across States of the level of fines for the same offence; that the level of fines often do not reflect the potential seriousness of an offence; that inconsistent speed limits create unnecessary confusion and the level of tolerance (or allowance) for above a specific speed limit is ill-defined and/or unstated.

“Motorists with a clean driving record are not rewarded. These and other reasons have cemented in the minds of the general public that particularly mobile speed and fixed cameras are employed as revenue raising devices for the government.”

The high fines, it says, leads to a further complication of licence suspension.

“Resistance to the payment of traffic fines and/or the inability to meet payment is reported to have resulted in 23,000 people having their licence suspended in 2012/1314; fine-related revocations of a licence do not necessarily result in people not driving, but continuing to drive without compulsory third party insurance (which carries its own risk).

“The fine for driving an unregistered vehicle in South Australia at or about the time registration stickers were no longer issued increased from $335 to $1,000 and the fine for driving uninsured increased from $600 to $1,500.

“It is questionable whether government conducted a sufficient information campaign (similar to drink driving) to inform the community of the subtle change in responsibility to ensure a vehicle is registered and the penalties for not doing so.”

In its analysis of the data, the report questions the high fines regime.

“Road traffic fines in South Australia appear higher than those in other States. To what extent do they reflect ‘dangerous’ driving? Are South Australian drivers dangerous?

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by Squish

The sad part is that challenging it is such a hassle that I'll probably just pay it.

that's what they want you to do. overloading the courts is the only way to stem the flow.

the level of tolerance (or allowance) for above a specific speed limit is ill-defined and/or unstated.

it's pretty bad govt policy that these definitions are purposely hidden. i suppose it's to make it harder to defend against

[monzie]

Originally Posted by zilo

Good to see fog light laws being enforced.

Serves you right.

X2, misuse of fog lights is a pox on motoring.

Pete

[MercurySilver]

LOL

i mean having your fog lights on might cause the death of a bus load of school kids
and you wouldnt want to have to live with that for the rest of your life

FINE: 4wd headlights beaming me in the face on lowbeam as im driving towards them because they have aftermarket brighter globes

NOT FINE: driving with your fog lights on that actually dont beam you in the face when you head towards oncoming traffic because heavens to betsy that bus load of school kids might be just around the corner

[MercurySilver]

Originally Posted by FlivverFord

I also dislike "END 80" signs on rural roads. Speed camera got me a beaut' in my first month back here. As the state limit is 110kph I simply assumed that's what I could do after driving past one of those signs. $130 fine told me it's not!

there is one of these signs literally two streets away from me, just before a country intersection!
it then goes to 100kms past the intersection just around the bend
i always thought it meant that speed zone is now over and it was the state limit!
thats what i was told

so, what the hell is the speed limit after the END 80km sign then ???

wiki:
The "END" speed limit sign is increasingly used throughout Australia to signal the end of a posted speed restriction, or built-up area 'default' speed-limit leading to the jurisdiction's 'rural' default speed limit. It contains the word "END" and a number in a black circle beneath this, representing the ceasing speed-limit. It is typically used where, according to AS1742.4 the road beyond has certain hazards such as hidden driveways, poor camber, soft edges and other hazards where the road authority feels a posted speed limit sign might be too dangerous or otherwise unwarranted. It is intended therefore to invoke particular caution


errr
huh?

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by falconboy

Being from NSW I was amazed on a recent holiday to SA how many damn cameras there where at intersections etc, particularly in Adelaide. They seemed to be absolutely everywhere. I didn't even realise until half way through my first day driving around as I found the signs to not always be obvious or even exist at the sites of all cameras. I can tell you what though, the time I was there it slowed me down, and obviously does everyone else too. I was flabbergasted how in a bunch of traffic everyone was pretty much driving along with each other at the speed limit, all very peacefully, it actually felt very surreal. I don't entirely agree with what often seems to be revenue raising, but maybe we need it in NSW to slow people down.

A family friend moved to Adelaide from Melbourne 10 years ago, whilst sitting having a coffee soon after he arrived he commented on how no one was in hurry. He said that in Melbourne everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere.
Having lived in Sydney and spent a bit of time in SE Qld, I think he was bang on the money.
The fact that you were flabbergasted by our ability to successfully negotiate traffic whilst maintaining a legal speed says something about the driving attitudes of our eastern neighbours.

[Bushbasher]

Originally Posted by MercurySilver

FINE: 4wd headlights beaming me in the face on lowbeam as im driving towards them because they have aftermarket brighter globes

This is one of my pet hates as well but I don't think it's got anything to do with the globes used, it's got more to do with the lights being poorly adjusted. They are adjusted from the factory with no weight in the back and most 4x4 owners don't have the common sense to re-adjust them when they fill them with fuel, load up the back with kids and assorted crap and/or then hitch up a trailer or caravan. consequently they are way too high and we all suffer.

Originally Posted by MercurySilver

NOT FINE: driving with your fog lights on that actually don't beam you in the face when you head towards oncoming traffic......

I have to disagree here, those factory fog lights and a lot of the cheaper after market ones don't have any kind of shaped beam as they are more of a flood than a tight beam, so they do dazzle oncoming traffic, that is why it's illegal to run them unless the conditions require them. I have a set of fogs and a set of driving lights in the Smartbar of the wagon, both Narva, and the fogs have a very defined cut off line that keeps the light below eye line. The other lights just flood. The fogs are designed to keep the light low so you can see the road and fog line and centre lines and not dazzle you with reflected light off of the white fog as that effectively blinds you. When the fog gets thick enough I have been known to turn off my headlights and run on the fog lights alone as that gives the best penetration and most contrast to be able to still see the road. All the headlights end up doing is causing a white out as the light reflects back off of the fog and blinds me.

If you want to use your "fog" lights as extra peripheral lighting then adjust them to flood the sides of the road and hook them to the high beam circuit, otherwise leave them off unless you actually have foggy or adverse conditions.

[93EB_SXR6]

I had a mate who owned a "4WD", I use quotation marks because it was a camp Nissan Xtrail...
he purposely aimed his fog lights upwards so that he could blind other drivers. Yes, he was a real air head.

[lucas2]

Originally Posted by MercurySilver

so, what the hell is the speed limit after the END 80km sign then ???

It means the speed limit returns to the default limit for that type of road. For example, in a built up area it would return the speed limit to 50 km/h and on freeways or highways it would be 100km/h

[Cobra]

Originally Posted by Squish

I found out the hard way the other day that the fine in NSW for having foglights on has gone up to $101. Used to be 80 something a few years ago when I was with a friend who was booked for the same (after the cop couldn't prove he'd been doing burnouts). Especially annoyed since it was raining and otherwise I was doing nothing wrong but heading to night shift. The sad part is that challenging it is such a hassle that I'll probably just pay it.

I fought and "won" this stupid fine back in 2011. It was a massive hassle and appearing before the magistrate saved me $4. The fine was $287, but the Victims of Crime Levy was $283 which is what I had to pay to stand before the magistrate. A huge moral victory for me, but was it worth it? It depends on how strong your convictions are on the matter.

[hedgehobb]

Originally Posted by 93EB_SXR6

So you've never exceeded the speed limit in your life hedgehobb? Must be nice being so perfect.

So I suggest a way to keep to the speed limit with modern tech and now I'm an ahole. Ok.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by hedgehobb

So I suggest a way to keep to the speed limit with modern tech and now I'm an ahole. Ok.

Don't worry about it hedgehobb, for some around here if you are not continually accumulating speeding fines and demerit points you are doing something wrong, twisted logic.........

[290v]

I get annoyed with the Rego pricing $X amount for a 4Cyl then $X amount for a 6Cyl then $X amount for an 8Cyl and then 4X4 rego, this costing goes back to the Jurassic days but these days a Turbo powered 4s & 6s are just as powerful most cars these days driven and take up the same amount of space on the Rd, the 3rd party section of the Rego is the killer because in the old days the V8 was the deemed as the most powerful of the vehicle option

[irish2]

Was driving towards a car pulled over on the opposite side of the road last night. Had his high beams on, so I flashed him. The high beams remained on, and as I got closer it was a police vehicle. Seems being considerate when driving does not apply to them.

[Tassie f100]

Sorry FlivverFord the 110 speed limits only apply to the Midland betwwen Perth and Bagdad and the Bass betwwen Launceston and Sulphur Creek.

[Squish]

@Cobra I actually tried to request a review given the inclement weather at the time and I think I have a pretty strong case for leniency, but typically the website where you're supposed to lodge a review request hasn't worked once since I got the fine. Won't bother with court, especially after your story. Might give them a call before the expiry date for the review period and see if I can talk to someone who isn't a computer.

[pottery beige]

gets better....

MOTORISTS who fail to register their car will face fines of up to $2500 - the highest in the nation - from February, the State Government has announced.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/s...-1226788193574

[eb2fairmont]

The rah must be over budget or not enough taxpayers went to the cricket.

Oh hang on, in three years the only ****** employed will be the government.

Lets face it the sa government are the highest taxing and they wonder why businesses go interstate? Oh and let's not forget the second rate infrastructure.

Love living there though. Lol

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by johnydep

. One reason they had found is that contractors where leaving signs out to save time - packing up Friday, putting up on Monday.

This is 'normal' practice on NSW country road works.
Since the former RTA found it was cheaper to outsource the traffic control at roadwork sites to private contractors it's quite common to see signs left out 27/7.

[Squish]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

This is 'normal' practice on NSW country road works.
Since the former RTA found it was cheaper to outsource the traffic control at roadwork sites to private contractors it's quite common to see signs left out 27/7.

Funny you should say that. One was left outside my house after roadworks were finished a couple years ago. After three months when they didn't come back to get it I took it inside. Didn't have any contact details on it or anything. It's still rolling around the shed somewhere.

[Franco Cozzo]

Talking about people blinding others with fog lights etc, what I really hate is people with aftermarket HIDs in reflectors designed for halogen lights, all it does is throw heaps of light EVERYWHERE ELSE but down the road.

Or 4x4s with 100W+ globes in their head lights, if its a ****** reflector, more powerful light isn't going to fix the problem, see E series Falcons, you could put a 10,000W light in those head lights and still not see **** just annoy other people.

I had this jacked up Hilux come the opposite direction to me and I thought his high beams are on, so I flashed him, he turned on his high beams, I turned on my high beams, I turned on my spot lights, he turned on his spot lights and no one won :(

Fog lights dont really bother me, they seem to be pointed down low to the ground, but its mainly Commodore drivers who drive around with them on I've noticed.

[zilo]

Just got a present from SA POL.

One of our company cars went a bit late on a right turn arrow.

$416 fine
$60 levy....don't know what this is for??
$300 corporate fee....cause it's a company car?
$49 notice fee....this is the first notice !



Yes......$825 dollars !

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by zilo

Just got a present from SA POL.

One of our company cars went a bit late on a right turn arrow.

$416 fine
$60 levy....don't know what this is for??
$300 corporate fee....cause it's a company car?
$49 notice fee....this is the first notice !


Yes......$825 dollars !

It's for your safety

[Squish]

Wow...

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by FlivverFord

Speaking of posted speed limit signs, here in Tas' they seem to "move" quite a bit...literally!

Since I moved back here in '09 I've seen at least a dozen signs either move a few hundred metres along the road or disappear altogether.
I also dislike "END 80" signs on rural roads. Speed camera got me a beaut' in my first month back here. As the state limit is 110kph I simply assumed that's what I could do after driving past one of those signs. $130 fine told me it's not!

Just recently I drove to Port Sorell from Ulverstone to take my boat out. Local council has decided that now (xmas time) is the perfect time for road works!
From the boat ramp heading back to Devonport it starts like this... 50kph, then 60, then 80, then "end 80", then 80-60-40 for road works, then back to 60, 80 then another "end 80".
All in the space of less than 20 kilometres. What ridiculous rubbish!
I could think of harsher words!

What's worse than a committee........a council funded committee!

END 80 signs are too ambiguous if they go to the effort of putting a sign up surely it can display the ACTUAL speed of the zone you are in!

[CheftonUTD]

I've got no problem with people being fined for intentionally breaking the road rules or driving unsafely.
It does annoy me though that the majority of the 'enforcement' I see is things like speed-cameras parked along roads where the speed limit changes every few kilometers. Sure, you make more easy money fining people coasting down from 100-80kph after the sign, but I feel a lot less safe from drivers on their phones or drifting across lanes/cutting through roundabouts than someone doing ~10kph over on a highway...
It'd be better to get the reckless/arrogant drivers off the road, but I suppose a parked camera is a lot more cost-efficient than paying a bunch of cops in unmarked cars to catch-out fewer drivers.

[zoesgift]

what annoys me is people all day on xmas day doing 10 to 15kmh LESS than the speed limit, what is with that?people have been emotionally scared by copping a fine like the one posted above.