$1.58 billion. That’s how much Victoria’s Department of Justice and Regulation charged Melbourne drivers between July 2011 and June 2016, for speeding or running a red light. (We actually owe about $1.8 billion though.)
Out of that giant pool of cash, more than 20 per cent came from speed cameras in only 10 locations around the city, the Age reports.
The Western Ring Road makes three appearances in the top 10, and a camera at the intersection of William and Flinders streets is the CBD’s highest earner, according to the data from the Justice Department.
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Coming in at number one, with 243,566 infringements worth $50.2 million in fines are six cameras on the Western Ring Road at Boundary Road.
The second highest-earning cameras are on Eastlink at the Wellington Road Bridge, with violations totalling 207,285 (worth $41.8 million) and the third highest are on the Princes Freeway at Forsyth Road Bridge, with $38.6 million in fines coming from 185,218 infringements.
Then there’s Eastlink in Keysborough at the Dandenong Bypass Bridge ($34.8 million in fines from 172,931 infringements); the intersection of Warrigal and Batesford roads in Chadstone ($37.9 million in fines from 164,236 infringements); and the intersection of William and Flinders streets in the city ($34.8 million in fines from 142,761 infringements).
Rounding out the top 10: the Western Ring Road in Keilor East, northbound, at Keilor Park Drive Bridge ($33.4 million in fines, 156,903 infringements); the intersection of Fitzroy Street and Lakeside Drive in St Kilda ($28.8 million, 120,855 infringements); Princes Freeway in Lara at Avalon Road Bridge ($22.4 million in fines, 107,385 infringements); and with its third inclusion in the top 10, the Western Ring Road, roughly 600 metres west of Sydney Road in Broadmeadows ($22.3 million in fines, 100,783 infringements).
It goes without saying that road rules should be obeyed in the interest of safety. But perhaps knowing that the combined camera profits could feed a small nation may be the extra incentive you need to slow down next time.