BENDIGO’S fixed speed and red light cameras are reaping almost $10,000 a day, or more than $400 an hour.
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New figures from April to June show $887,302 was raised by cameras in Bendigo, Bagshot and Ironbark, equating to $9750 per day.
That’s up from January to March, where $8078 was raised each day on average.
The two Bagshot level crossing cameras alone raised $746,623 between April and June, an 18 per cent rise on the previous period, while the camera in Ironbark had a 38 per cent jump in revenue.
The High Street, Bendigo, camera recorded a 22 per cent jump in fines.
Senior Sergeant Paul Gardiner of Bendigo’s highway patrol said that if people didn’t want to be fined they shouldn’t be speeding, running red lights or driving unregistered vehicles.
“It’s simple; don’t do the wrong thing and you won’t get fined,” he said.
“The cameras are put there for a reason; they’re in high-risk areas and we don’t want people to speed or run red lights. Unfortunately, they’re still booking people.”
He said Monday’s fatal crash in Raywood highlighted the risks of driving.
“It serves as a reminder that sadly country Victorians are dying on country roads,” he said.
“We want that to stop.
“We don’t want our loved ones taken away from us.”
Senior Sergeant Gardiner said he was concerned that more people were being booked by the cameras, and said he hoped the fines would change driver behaviour.
“There’s never an excuse,” he said.
“Slow down, stick to the speed limit and drive to the conditions.”
More than 14,000 fines were issued by the eastbound and westbound Bagshot cameras in the 2011-12 financial year, netting more than
$3 million in fines, with 16,673 fines handed out by all cameras.