'Lead Foot' drivers urged to slow down

[Buzz Killington]

'LEAD FOOT' DRIVERS URGED TO SLOW DOWN


Chief Minister and Minister for Transport, Jon Stanhope, has pleaded with Canberrans to slow down on the roads, after road safety cameras detected an 88 per cent increase in the number of Canberra men and women caught speeding or running a red light.

Mr Stanhope said infringements issued by fixed road safety cameras increased from 46,633 in 2006/07 to 87,547 in 2008/09. He said that that while the increase corresponded with an additional 14 fixed cameras installed between 2007 and 2008 the number of infringements issued was unacceptably high.

"Every night we see on our televisions the horrific carnage that results from road crashes - crashes that can result in the tragic loss of entire families or friendship groups," Mr Stanhope said. "And yet Canberra drivers still cannot make the connection between this horror on their televisions and their behaviour on the roads.

"Road safety cameras have been installed across Canberra in an attempt to permanently change the behaviour of drivers on our roads. The cameras and an enhanced police presence are used in an attempt to make our roads as safe as they possibly can be.

"But there simply cannot be a police officer stationed every 200m along our roads, or safety cameras at every intersection and along every street."

Mr Stanhope welcomed the decrease in infringements issued at some locations but said the ACT still had a long way to go towards achieving a new culture of road safety in the ACT.

"The Government looks forward to the day when it sees the number of Canberra men and women caught speeding start to fall. But how long that day will take to arrive depends entirely on those who get behind the wheel of a car."

For the 2008-09 financial year infringements were down at cameras located on Hindmarsh Drive and Yamba Drive (down 67%, to 1368), Ginninderra Drive and Coulter Drive (down 56% to 594), Canberra Avenue / Newcastle Street (down 57% to 1,682) and Barry Drive and Marcus Clarke Street (down 54% to 2,029).

Mr Stanhope said the Government continues to investigate the use of point-to-point cameras as part of a suite of road safety initiatives.