Far North’s first fixed speed camera up and ready to go - but no tickets yet

A flash new state-of-the-art speed camera has been installed on SH1 between Kawakawa and Moerewa. Photo / Mike Dinsdale

The Far North’s first fixed speed camera has been installed between Kawakawa and Moerewa, but it could be several months before tickets are issued to speeding drivers.

The flash new state-of-the-art speed camera was installed on State Highway 1 at the end of June, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency said.

Now that it is installed, a rigorous testing and certification process will follow. The safety camera will be in test mode for a period and then fully operational later in the year. This is to ensure the associated Waka Kotahi back-office processes are working properly before infringement notices are issued. The Northern Advocate understands this could take several months.

The camera is a new-generation machine with automatic number plate recognition technology and has been put up in an effort to make driving safer, Waka Kotahi director of regional relationships Steve Mutton said.

He said the new camera was part of the agency’s commitment to achieving Road to Zero, a vision where no deaths or serious injuries occur on our roads.

Mutton said the camera is a crucial step towards improving road safety in Northland, particularly on high-risk roads where the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries is elevated. The safety camera will be operated as a static speed camera, measuring vehicle speeds towards or away from the camera. It is the first static/fixed speed camera in the Far North and the first of the new “halo” cameras in the country.

“Safety cameras are just one of the many tools that can be utilised to promote safe and efficient travel in Te Tai Tokerau,” Mutton said.

“The primary objective of safety cameras is to support the moderation of speed across our road network to reduce crashes that cause deaths or serious injuries. Even small reductions in speed can significantly reduce the risk of deaths and serious injuries on our roads.”

He said initially, the camera will be in test mode to ensure all operational and legal requirements are met. At the end of this testing, the camera will start enforcing offences to promote safe driving habits and encourage motorists to adhere to speed limits. Mutton said overseas evidence showed the use of safety cameras significantly reduced the rate of deaths and serious injuries when combined with safe speed limits.

Fixed static speed cameras are used to measure the speed of vehicles (travelling to or away from the camera), identify which lane they are travelling in and differentiate between vehicles such as heavy trucks and cars, which have different speed limits. An infrared flash enables number plate information to be captured in the dark.

This camera will have automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) capability. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is in progress that will ensure the appropriate safeguards and policies are in place to manage the test data collected. The PIA will be published on the Waka Kotahi website before the safety camera is installed.