Speeding Motorists Could Soon Get Penalty Notifications Via SMS

Speeding motorists caught by fixed cameras in Queensland may soon find a penalty notice in their SMS inbox, if a recommendation made to the Queensland Government by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia is put into action.

Speaking at a public hearing in Brisbane, Institute spokesman Jason Deller told the state's Economic Development Committee that while fixed cameras "absolutely" work as a deterrent to speeding, the delay between the offence and the notification (usually by mail) was detrimental to the system's effectiveness.

Using either an SMS service or an iPhone/Android application, Mr Deller said motorists could be notified much sooner of their offence.

"The issue is it needs to be immediate, it needs to be as fast as possible so that it delivers the same notice as an officer standing on the edge of the road," Mr Deller said.

He did not address the question of how the relevant office would come to have access to mobile numbers (likely an opt-in service), or how this approach would mesh with the ongoing campaigns at national and state levels against sending or reading text messages while driving.

Speaking in defence of fixed cameras, Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Ian Stewart said that a fixed speed camera on the M1 in the Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi had reduced speeding offences since it was installed in 2008, although exact numbers were not provided.