25 Jul 2012

Mobile speed cameras to be marked

6:26 pm on 25 July 2012

In a major change to police speed camera policy, mobile speed camera vans will be marked as safety traffic cameras. Seven such vehicles are to be on the roads shortly.

Inspector Trevor Pullen says the marked speed camera vehicles are part of a preventative strategy.

The white vehicles will be marked similarly to police vehicles, with blue and yellow livery down the side and the word traffic safety camera.

Inspector Pullen says the number of marked speed camera vehicles will increase as existing vehicles are replaced.

The Automobile Association says the marking of mobile speed cameras will remove concerns about entrapment and perceptions that speed camera tickets are a revenue gathering exercise.

The Labour Party, however, says marking mobile speed cameras will be a waste of money.

The change - a significant policy shift - goes against the Government's stated position from September last year.

The then police minister Judith Collins dismissed the idea, saying signs only make drivers slow down for a while.

Labour's transport safety spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says he agrees with Ms Collins.