But a Dunedin officer is warning speeding motorists the enforcement device is only one of many tools police use to reduce road harm.
Police driver offence data shows the number of motorists snapped by a mobile speed camera in Coastal Otago fell nearly 70% between 2014 and 2018.
Consequently, fines from mobile speed cameras plummeted from nearly $1.6million in 2014 to about $620,000 in 2018.
Otago Coastal spans the area from the Waitaki Bridge down to Clinton and inland to Omarama.
Senior Sergeant Jared Kirk, team leader of the Otago Coastal road policing team, said the drop was because of a realignment of resources in Otago in 2015 and 2016.
At the end of 2015, a traffic camera operator in the Otago Coastal area retired, reducing the number of full-time operators in the area from three to two.
A full-time traffic camera operator was employed for the first time in the Otago Lakes region at the same time because of its increasing popularity as a place to live or visit.
Nearly 5800 speeding motorists were snapped by mobile speed cameras in the Otago Lakes region last year, nearly four times more than in 2014.
Another reason for the number of recorded offences being low in the Otago Coastal area last year was that a camera van was off the road "for quite some time'' because of a mechanical issue.
Also, one of the traffic camera operators retired, leaving a lone operator working until the vacant second position was filled late last year.
Mobile speed camera sites in the Southern region were being reviewed, Snr Sgt Kirk said.
New sites would be where speeding motorists were known to pose a risk to public safety.
"Mobile speed cameras link directly into road safety and keeping us safe. They are one tool we use to target the greatest determining factor in road harm and that is speed.''
Other tools included fixed speed cameras and police on patrols.
"If every motorist stuck to the speed limit then no-one would need to worry about speed cameras, but unfortunately, not everyone does.''
SHAWN.MCAVINUE @thestar.co.nz
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Comments
After reading the above worn out policy statement, can we all remind police that the road toll is through the roof. I don't think they know that.
Did you know, a survey was done at Massey Uni during the 90s (I was involved) and it showed that every long weekend, the more police bashed drivers about being safe that weekend, the road toll went up. There were 8 weekends that nothing was mentioned and they were the only weekends with few deaths.
Publicity is finally being done that the major cause of crashes is inattention/ distraction & lately the massive cell ph use. These are areas the police cannot actively patrol in, so feeling left out, they ignore. And then theres drugs!
What about people speeding up in passing lanes then slowing down.
Then we have most drivers who simply do not know the road rules or misuse them. So if you want to be serious, re test drivers.
My last near miss was because a truckie dangerously winked at night to another truckie whilst i was overtaking him. Thinking he was suddenly moving in to my lane, I left my tyres on my road and got hit by a car following me. That is a practice the police need to address.
Less hui cops - more doey.
"Mobile speed cameras link directly into road safety and keeping us safe. They are one tool we use to target the greatest determining factor in road harm and that is speed.''
So hiding yourself behind a bush or sign directly at the bottom of a hill isn't filling your quota knowing full well you likely will get people who are over the limit.
Don't speed then you cry ... yeah right, the 4kph 'limit' was only ever designed as an easy quota gathering device.