By Andrew Rasch
Published: Tuesday, November 29, 2022
You’re behind the wheel and about to enter a main road from a side street, when suddenly a blur of wheels, glass and coloured metal flashes by. The offending car roars down the road, travelling well above the speed limit.
Sound familiar? Regrettably, it’s far too common. In the past five financial years, 14,791 drivers were caught travelling at 30km/h or more above the speed limit. Not only is driving at such high speeds risky and foolish, but on many occasions the driver is aware they’re breaking the law.
Which spots in our state are the worst for hoon driving? We’ve looked at the data and found the top fixed camera and mobile camera locations where drivers have been snapped travelling 30km/h or more over the speed limit.
Fixed cameras
Fixed cameras are at set locations around South Australia, but they’re more concentrated in urban areas. They’re along roads, and at intersections, pedestrian crossings or level crossings. They can also be found as part of point-to-point camera operations, where your average speed is measured over a certain distance.
The five locations below recorded 685 speeding offences of 30km/h or more, resulting in about $750,000 in fines.
| Top 5 fixed safety camera sites for speeding 30km/h or more | |
|---|---|
| 1. South Eastern Fwy, Leawood Gardens (Mid-block camera) | 267 |
| 2. South Eastern Fwy, Nairne to Callington (Point-to-point camera) | 108 |
| 3. South Eastern Fwy, Nairne (Point-to-point camera) | 107 |
| 4. South Eastern Fwy, Crafers (Mid-block camera) | 103 |
| 5. Northern Expy, Waterloo Corner (Point-to-point camera) | 100 |
Mobile cameras
Mobile cameras are placed temporarily at roadside locations and detect the speed of passing vehicles. Their locations vary and are announced daily on the South Australia Police website and through the media.
There were 355 motorists caught travelling 30km/h or more over the speed limit at the below locations, which resulted in about $500,000 in fines.
| Top 5 mobile camera sites for speeding 30km/h or more | |
|---|---|
| 1. Gorge Rd, Paracombe | 119 |
| 2. Paris Creek Rd, Paris Creek | 96 |
| 3. North South Motorway, Dry Creek | 55 |
| 4. Princes Hwy, Tailem Bend | 50 |
| 5. Southern Expy, O’Halloran Hill | 35 |
Speeding drivers put all road users at risk
So, how dangerous is travelling at such high speeds? Think about it in stopping distance terms.
If you drive 30km/h above the speed limit, you’re adding an extra 8.5m per second to your travel speed. That means an attentive driver – with a reaction time of around 1.5 seconds – travels an extra 12.5m before they’ve even hit the brakes.
On a dry road, travelling at 90km/h in a 60km/h zone equates to a total stopping distance (reaction distance plus braking distance) of about 77m. That’s almost double the distance when compared to travelling at 60km/h.
If a car pulls out from an intersection or a child runs onto the road 50m ahead, the driver has very little chance of stopping in time. A collision with a pedestrian at this speed would almost certainly result in fatality.
When travelling 130km/h, the stopping distance increases to nearly 140m, which is about 30 car lengths – or the length of five B-doubles.
RAA Senior Manager of Road Safety and Infrastructure Charles Mountain says travelling at such high speeds is unsafe for everyone, regardless of the capability and safety features of modern vehicles.
“The number of drivers being caught travelling at such excessive speeds is extremely concerning,” Mr Mountain said.
This is blatantly reckless and irresponsible behaviour, showing no regard for the driver’s safety or any other road users.
The statistics are alarming, and with the holiday season almost upon us, it’s a timely reminder to be aware of hoon drivers and how they affect all of us.
As the Think! Road Safety campaign advertisement says, ‘Speeding drivers come out of nowhere’.