VICTORIA Police will let off almost 1000 drivers fined for speeding on the Western Ring Road earlier this year.
Police released a statement on Friday in relation to the fines, writing that ‘‘Victoria Police has read with interest the recommendations of the Road Safety Camera Commissioner relating to speeding offences committed on 30 June, 2013, on the Western Ring Road, Keilor East’’.
The statement comes after hundreds of callers contacted Neil Mitchell on 3AW to complain that they had been unfairly booked by the camera on the northbound lanes at the Keilor Park Drive bridge, while driving in a temporary works zone in June.
According to 3AW, 991 drivers were caught in 73 minutes by the camera, while 269 were booked for speeding by more than 25km/h.
The Keilor Park Drive site has been a source of immense revenue for the Victorian government over the first nine months of the 2012-2013 financial year, with the north-bound and south-bound camera generating more than $20 million, and snapping more than 92,000 drivers.
The cameras have also been responsible for 9 per cent of all speeding fine revenue Victoria.
When the complaints were first made, police told Mitchell that the fines would not be reversed.
However, after an investigation by Road Safety Camera Commissioner Gordon Lewis found that not enough signs were adequately displayed to warn drivers of the speed changes, the drivers were let off with only an ‘‘official warning’’.
Despite police cancelling the speeding tickets, they nonetheless warned motorists that the ‘‘decision [was] based on the unique circumstances of this case, [and that] it is not in the public interest to pursue these matters’’.
Victoria Police also admitted that it was a ‘‘difficult’’ decision, as many of the drivers who were fined have a history of speeding, and ‘‘have even been caught speeding since this incident’’.
Fairfax Media contacted the Road Safety Camera Commissioner for comment, and was told ‘‘there is nothing else we can usefully add to that other than what’s already in our report’’.
When asked about other investigations into cameras, the spokesman said ‘‘as far as other investigations are concerned, we can’t really say anything’’.
