Concerns cops swooping on Safer Speeds trial road to catch ‘speeding' motorists unaware
Amid regular calls about 'revenue raising,' the outcry comes as speed limits across hundreds of local government roads are changing due to the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River's partnership with the RAC.
The three-year Safer Speeds trial includes Main Roads WA changing speed signs on about 500 roads with new, lower limits which include hotly debated locations such as Redgate and Cowaramup Bay roads.
Posters on social media during the past fortnight have alleged local police are embracing 'easy pickings' with enthusiasm.
WA Police denied concerns about 'revenue raising'.
'All speed camera revenue goes to the Road Trauma Trust Account and is used on initiatives to reduce road trauma in WA as recommended by the Road Safety Council,' a spokesperson said.
Police noted speed was one of the leading contributors to road crashes and officers had discretion when it came to infringements — including consideration of recent changes to speed limits.
'Local police and road policing command are continuing high visibility patrols as part of a targeted initiative to reduce road trauma and promote safer driving behaviour,' the spokesperson said.
'Police will be conducting patrols anywhere, anytime, with a strong focus on areas identified as high risk for speeding-related incidents.'
Shire president Julia Jean-Rice acknowledged the speed changes could be frustrating with many residents were accustomed to driving at the previous speeds.
The president noted consultation was undertaken before the trial and residents could still leave feedback for the first 12-month review.
She directed drivers to
yoursay.amrshire.wa.gov.au/safer-speeds-trial-2
.
Shane Vowels said online the new rules were 'for safety' but questioned the timing of the enforcement.
'Just happens to coincide with it being the end of the month and having to make those quotas too.'
Other residents said there were bigger road safety factors to consider in winter than speed.
'Road safety? And yet people are driving around hitting potholes and damaging vehicles,' Margaret River man Peter Simmonds said.
'There is a hell of a lot more to road safety than driving a few kays (sic) over some arbitrary speed limit.'
Other commentators voiced dissatisfaction at the steady creep of more lowered speed limits in the region as part of the RAC trial.
'All the huge volume of traffic coming to the area over the coming decades is going to slow everything down naturally,' resident Andrew Home said.
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West Australian
6 days ago
- West Australian
Concerns cops swooping on Safer Speeds trial road to catch ‘speeding' motorists unaware
South West motorists have taken to social media claiming police are taking advantage of newly changed speed zones to catch them unawares. Amid regular calls about 'revenue raising,' the outcry comes as speed limits across hundreds of local government roads are changing due to the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River's partnership with the RAC. The three-year Safer Speeds trial includes Main Roads WA changing speed signs on about 500 roads with new, lower limits which include hotly debated locations such as Redgate and Cowaramup Bay roads. Posters on social media during the past fortnight have alleged local police are embracing 'easy pickings' with enthusiasm. WA Police denied concerns about 'revenue raising'. 'All speed camera revenue goes to the Road Trauma Trust Account and is used on initiatives to reduce road trauma in WA as recommended by the Road Safety Council,' a spokesperson said. Police noted speed was one of the leading contributors to road crashes and officers had discretion when it came to infringements — including consideration of recent changes to speed limits. 'Local police and road policing command are continuing high visibility patrols as part of a targeted initiative to reduce road trauma and promote safer driving behaviour,' the spokesperson said. 'Police will be conducting patrols anywhere, anytime, with a strong focus on areas identified as high risk for speeding-related incidents.' Shire president Julia Jean-Rice acknowledged the speed changes could be frustrating with many residents were accustomed to driving at the previous speeds. The president noted consultation was undertaken before the trial and residents could still leave feedback for the first 12-month review. She directed drivers to . Shane Vowels said online the new rules were 'for safety' but questioned the timing of the enforcement. 'Just happens to coincide with it being the end of the month and having to make those quotas too.' Other residents said there were bigger road safety factors to consider in winter than speed. 'Road safety? And yet people are driving around hitting potholes and damaging vehicles,' Margaret River man Peter Simmonds said. 'There is a hell of a lot more to road safety than driving a few kays (sic) over some arbitrary speed limit.' Other commentators voiced dissatisfaction at the steady creep of more lowered speed limits in the region as part of the RAC trial. 'All the huge volume of traffic coming to the area over the coming decades is going to slow everything down naturally,' resident Andrew Home said.
West Australian
07-08-2025
- West Australian
Criticism over neglected Geraldton-Mount Magnet Road as record road funding was announced by State Government
Pleas for regional road upgrades are being ignored, according to the Member for Geraldton, in the wake of the Cook Government's record funding package for safer roads across WA. A record funding injection of $57 million to support more than 100 projects across the State was announced by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti and Road Safety Minister Reece Whitby at the end of July. The funding will be allocated to the 2025-26 State Black Spot Program and Safer Roads Program and includes 54 roads in regional WA, including $221,000 for the Northampton Kalbarri Road, $263,847 for Eastward Road-Pass Street-Rifle Range Road and $1.76 million for Eastward Road-Flores Road. Geraldton MLA Kirrilee Warr said while funding for the City of Greater Geraldton and Shire of Northampton was welcomed, it was disappointing to see other major roads in the region ignored. 'The road improvements within the area are welcomed, but there are important projects that have been missed,' she said. '$225m is what was needed to make all the safety improvements recommended for Geraldton-Mt Magnet Road, and not a cent was included in this announcement. 'When will the State Government acknowledge this is a road that is in desperate need of upgrades to ensure safety for the Geraldton and wider Mid West communities?' The Geraldton-Mt Magnet Road was included in the RAC's top 10 most risky regional roads, described as having poor surface quality, sharp turns and lacking overtaking opportunities. In response to Ms Warr's comments, a State Government spokesperson said more than $31 million had been invested on the road since July 2023 through the Regional Road Safety Program, and it was not included in the recent funding announcement as the State Black Spot Program was aimed towards smaller road projects. 'A significant amount of investment has been made on the Geraldton-Mt Magnet Road in recent years,' the spokesperson said. 'The Government will continue to invest in the Geraldton-Mt Magnet Road in the coming years. 'The State Black Spot program is tailored towards smaller projects that help to enhance safety throughout the State. As part of the criteria the maximum cost per project is $3 million.'
ABC News
20-07-2025
- ABC News
WA's RAC electric-highway charging project ends despite rise in EVs
When West Australian car insurer RAC first launched its "electric highway" installing electric vehicle chargers in WA's south-west, it was the first network of its kind in Australia and opened regional travel to EV owners for the first time. Not that there were many of them. RAC general manager of external relations Will Golsby said there were about 80 electric cars in the state in 2015, when the highway first opened. In surveys the RAC conducted 10 years ago, people were interested in EVs, but the number one concern was "range anxiety", the fear that the vehicles would be unusable outside of Perth because there was nowhere to charge them. "The original intent of the electric highways was really to open Western Australia up and enable people from Perth to travel through the south-west and allow our regional members with electric vehicles to travel to Perth," Mr Golsby told Gary Adshead on ABC Radio Perth. In 10 years, the number of fully electric vehicles in WA has grown to about 27,000, and there are about 150 charging stations across the state. The state government has spent more than $43 million on subsidies to help people buy electric vehicles and committed $21 million to extending the charging network. Mr Golsby said that, having demonstrated that owning an electric vehicle was a viable option in WA, the RAC had decided to move on, withdrawing from its involvement in the electric highway. "We wanted to open up the state to EVs," he said. "We believe there's been significant growth. We hope there will be more growth in electric vehicles." For Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) president Chris Jones, it is the end of an era in the evolution of electric transport in WA. It was Dr Jones, along with two others, who first pitched the idea of building the charging network to the RAC 10 years ago. "It started because I was unemployed and looking for something to do. I wrote a 10-page document on how you would build charging in the south-west," Dr Jones said. "We found the ideal spots and what the layout would look like, and we pitched it to anyone that would listen." Many potential funders and government agencies said no, but the RAC took the idea seriously. "They came back and said: 'You know what, this is absolutely something we should be supporting', and they did," Dr Jones said. Dr Jones said he was not surprised the highway project had now come to an end. The RAC purchased and installed electric-highway charging stations, but they were then owned and managed by local governments. "Councils weren't prepared for what it took to look after this sort of equipment," Dr Jones said. "You have to learn new skills, get familiar with new technology. You don't make much money from it." Some of those stations will continue to operate on the Chargefox network, while others will close down. In the popular south-west holiday spots of Busselton and Dunsborough, the council has decided not to continue running the charging stations. City of Busselton Mayor Phill Cronin acknowledged the charging station in Dunsborough was popular. "I don't think there's one time I've walked past and they're not being utilised," Cr Cronin said. However, he said the council had decided the charging station was not in a great location and the technology was becoming outdated. "It's just not something we feel that we should be taking on," he said, adding that a local shopping centre in Dunsborough had installed four fast charging stations in its car park, providing drivers with other options. In the case of the Busselton charging station, the council is inviting expressions of interest from businesses who would like to take over the charger. While it is the end of an era for electric driving in WA, the RAC said it had achieved what it set out to do. "It was Australia's first. Other states now claim to have the bigger, larger, longer, wider highways, but certainly this was Australia's first," Mr Golsby said. For AEVA, it was a major boost to its lobbying efforts in WA. "Buoyed by [the electric highway], we put the effort into lobbying the WA government into building a decent charging network around the state," Dr Jones said. "I think the next effort we will need to see in public charging will be workplace charging."
