New Zealand's most profitable mobile speed camera issues 18,294 tickets in three years

Traffic on State Highway 1 in Wellsford, north of Auckland. Photo / Nick Monro, RNZ

By Ben Strang of RNZ

Official figures show the police's most active and profitable mobile speed camera van parks up on State Highway 1 through Wellsford.

A mobile speed camera parked between Davies and School roads, a 50km/h zone, has issued 18,294 tickets since January 2018, worth $1.135 million.

The camera location has issued more than double the number of fines than the next most prolific location over that three-year period.

The summer holiday period is the most common time for motorists to be hit with a fine through Wellsford.

In December last year, 3846 fines were issued worth $173,660.

That's 124 tickets and $5600 worth of fines every day.

The mobile speed camera dished out $123,340 worth of fines in January 2019, and $85,280 worth of tickets in January this year, while issuing thousands of fines.

Further north, State Highway 1 west of Kawakawa is the most profitable 100km/h stretch of road in New Zealand.

Between Moerewa and Pakaraka, $447,000 worth of fines have been issued by mobile cameras to 3764 motorists.

The next highest amount on the open road is State Highway 1 between Taihape and Hunterville, where $375,760 worth of fines were issued to 4656 drivers.

Fines increase markedly during the summer months, as people head away for Christmas or New Year holidays.

- RNZ