Police have now passed responsibility for speed cameras over to the New Zealand Transport Agency, which is placing them in a fleet of SUVs.
NZTA started rolling out its speed camera-equipped vehicles in Auckland in May and – as of the start of this month – has been the sole operator of the equipment. Police are no longer operating their vans.
A response to an Official Information Act request shows the range of the NZTA cameras’ radar is a maximum of 300m.
NZTA said: “The typical detection range of the equipment is 150 metres. The radar is capable of detection up to a range of 300 metres, depending on its use and installation.”
It said their radar units transmit continuously and that the mobile camera systems are paired with a high-definition still image camera.
“They do not use high-definition video and do not use automatic number plate recognition,” the agency said.
The system used is the Acusensus Harmony camera, which was approved under the Land Transport Act in April this year.
Police officers continue to have speed detection equipment which they operate from their own vehicles and these can have a much longer range – beyond 1km.
Road policing Inspector Peter McKennie said police have “not reduced their speed enforcement efforts with NZTA now taking over full responsibility of speed cameras”.
He added: “We will continue to operate radar and laser speed detection equipment, as well as pace-checking vehicles for speed. With lasers, this includes the ability to clearly identify individual vehicle speeds out of a line of traffic at distances in excess of one kilometre away.”
‘Not hidden’
The NZTA SUVs are unbranded and park on the sides of roads to monitor drivers and are positioned to be visible to drivers.
A spokesperson said at the time of the launch of the first SUV in May: “So while our safety cameras in SUVs and trailers will be visible to drivers and will not be hidden, they won’t be signposted.”
NZTA is also planning to add trailers to its mobile speed camera fleet later this year.
By the end of the rollout, there will be 44 mobile cameras nationwide, with 35 operating at any given time.
NZTA head of regulatory strategic programmes Tara Macmillan previously said mobile speed cameras will save lives. “Speeding drivers can cause serious and irreparable harm on the roads, including deaths and serious injuries,” she said.
“Evidence shows that we can reduce the chance of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes if drivers travel within speed limits, and that is why we have safety cameras.”
The exact timing and location of the cameras is based on factors such as crash data and feedback from local communities.
“Mobile cameras will be used in places where there is a risk of people being killed or seriously injured in a crash,” Macmillan said.
