Police officer caught asleep at the wheel while on speed camera duty

A Sydney police officer in charge of manning a speed camera has been caught snoozing behind the wheel while on the job.

Last Sunday the sleeping officer caught the eye of Australian motorists who were driving past, with one driver slowing down to capture video and images.

Road safety experts told 7 News the incident is a bad look.

"The operator in the vehicle must be fully cognitive the whole time," motoring expert Geoff Luff said.

"Going asleep on the job really is not on."

A mobile speed camera operator has been seen sleeping on the job for almost two hours.

It is believed the operator was asleep for nearly two hours.

Photos of the sleeping operator emerged as it was revealed a Melbourne intersection has been raking in more than $45,000 a day in traffic fines.

The programme costs $21 million a year to run and in 2016, nearly 30,000 infringement notices were handed out, bringing in an estimated $6m in fines.

The operator was behind the wheel of a parked Ford Falcon on Sydney Road in north Sydney on Sunday morning.

Department of Justice and Regulation spokeswoman Ashleigh Brown told the Herald Sun speed cameras played a "critical role in changing driver behaviour and helping keep people safe on our roads".

"Research shows us that a pedestrian hit by a car travelling at 60km/h is unlikely to survive, whereas a pedestrian struck at 40km/h has a much greater chance of survival."

Australia National Roads and Motorists' Association spokesperson Peter Khoury agreed, saying that in this instance the officer should have been "awake to make sure the technology is working."

NSW Roads and Maritime Services said they were investigating the incident.