Confessions of a speed camera operator

Here, in my home town of Canberra, as well as fixed speed and red light cameras, we have mobile operators monitoring and checking the speeds of the city’s motorists. I’m sure your home town has a similar set up.

Thanks to a recent article in the City News I can tell you there are currently five of these vans in operation around the ACT. All the vans are plain white Mercedes Vito models and they usually stick out like the dog’s proverbials. The locations in which the vans can be used are mandated, although there are 120 approved sites around Canberra.

Speed cameras and their operation often creates heated debate among motorists, so its good to remove the emotion and just hear what the dude inside the van has to say.

John, the operator pictured above, says cars can be measured and photographed from as far away as one kilometre. When a photo is taken two pictures are recorded one after the other. The first focuses on the number plate, the second, taken immediately after, is a wider view which shows the car and its surroundings.

The mobile van operators have caught motorists speeding in excess of 200km/h and John says there is satisfaction in doing his job, “Absolutely, it’s good to catch them,” he says. “It happens especially around places like the Monaro Highway and we catch a lot of people around the ski season.”

Like anywhere else Canberra has its share of practical jokers and there is one story from around town that is believed to be more than urban myth. The tale centres around a group of young men who approached one of the vans not long after they were first deployed on the capital’s streets. They spoke to the operator and asked a few question on how the cameras worked and so on. While this was happening, and the operator was distracted answering questions, one of the group removed the number plate from the front of the speed van. They then placed the plate on their own car and proceeded to speed past the van several times. Of course, AUSmotive does not condone such behaviour, but it is an amusing story nonetheless.

That tale was not confirmed by John, but he did tell of a woman who exposed herself to his camera one day. “There was one time when a lady, walking her kids to school, walked up and dropped her gear in front of the camera and started yelling ‘take a photo of this!’ No photographs were actually taken,” laughs John.

For more check out the article in full by following the link below.

[Source: CityNews | Pic: Silas]