Motorist’s speeding fine reveals how many kilometres you can go over the limit without recording a fine
- Fine issued to Melbourne driver showed he was detected driving at 67km/h
- Ticket though said his alleged speed was 3km/h less to allow for inaccuracies
- Other motorists said ticket is proof police will only fine you 7km/h over the limit
- Claimed police give drivers an extra 3km/h of leeway on top of stated tolerance
A motorist’s speeding ticket has appeared to show how fast drivers can go over the limit without getting fined.
The fine issued to a Melbourne driver in Brookfield in the city’s far-west said he had been caught driving at 67km/h in a 60km/h zone.
The ticket though said his alleged speed was 64km/h to allow for ‘tolerance’ in detection equipment.
Other motorists in the Facebook group where the ticket was shared said the ticket was proof you have to be driving at least 7km/h over the limit to get caught.
They claimed police actually give drivers an extra 3km/h of leniency on top of the 3km/h tolerance level stated on the fine.
A speeding ticket with a 3km/h discrepancy between the ‘alleged speed’ and the ‘detected speed’ shows how fast drivers can go without getting a fine, motorists have claimed
Some Australians said the leeway given to drivers depended on the accuracy of the speed camera used and the tolerance level was higher for mobile speed guns.
Victoria Police said it does not make public any speed thresholds the force uses but urged drivers not to assume they will be given any leniency.
‘While we don’t want to issue infringements, our role is to prevent people from becoming seriously injured or dying on our roads,’ Road Policing Command Acting Inspector Michael Kelly told Daily Mail Australia.
‘If you are detected travelling over the limit you should expect to be caught.’
The statement echoes advice from the National Roads and Motorists’ Association, who say Victoria police have no mercy for speeding motorists who exceed the limit for as little as 2 km/h.
Police forces in Queensland and Western Australia have both previously refuted the ’10 per cent myth’ that a driver in a 60km/h zone could travel at up to 66km/h.
‘It’s a myth. The easiest way to avoid speeding fines is to observe and stick to the speed limit,’ WA Police said.
Victoria Police said it does not make public any speed thresholds the force uses and drivers should not assume they will be given any leniency (stock image)
Queensland Police also described the rule as a ‘myth’, but said admitted officers do have a ‘tolerance level’ in place for speeding.
‘We have never disclosed what it is, as it would create a de-facto speed limit,’ a spokesperson told Yahoo News.
South Australia police said they were unwilling to disclose the extent of their own tolerance level, but said one does exist in each bracket.
‘Our policy is not to discuss or reveal these as we believe it will essentially set a default speed limit on the roads,’ Traffic Support Branch Superintendent Bob Gray said.
According to the NRMA, NSW police will consider factors such as traffic and road conditions before they fine speeding motorists.
‘A police officer has a level of discretion and can take a number of matters into consideration at the time of the offence,’ Assistant Commissioner John Hartley told the NRMA.
If a NSW motorist is driving a few kilometres above the limit but is travelling at a pace consistent with surrounding vehicles, police may let the driver off without a fine because there is no danger posed.
On the other side of the coin, motorists are likely to be fined for going over the speed limit in a roadwork zone because it risks the safety of road workers.
Leniency to drivers caught going over the limit by speed cameras is harder to determine.
‘The matter of speed camera tolerances is not discussed publicly in the interest of road safety,’ the Centre for Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon told NRMA.
