- NZTA rolling out trailer-based mobile safety cameras nationwide.
- Units can now photograph vehicles moving away as well as towards them.
- Motorcycles’ rear number plates now firmly in the enforcement frame.
You may have seen news reports over the past couple of days reporting that the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is set to roll out its first trailer-based mobile safety camera this week, adding to the growing fleet of camera-equipped SUVs already in operation across the country.
What we noticed tucked at the bottom of the press release from NZTA is that these new trailers will be able to photograph vehicles heading towards AND away from the camera, meaning the previous advantage of being on a motorcycle and having no number plate at the front will soon be null and void. Drat!
The first trailer will begin operating in Auckland on Wednesday, September 17, with nine more set to be deployed in the coming months. Combined with the existing 34 SUV-based units, NZTA says mobile safety cameras will now be operating for over 6,500 hours every month nationwide.
According to Tara Macmillan, NZTA’s Head of Regulatory Strategic Programmes, the new system will allow cameras to be placed at high-risk sites quickly and for longer periods than before:
“Using mobile trailers also allows us to have our cameras out for longer stretches of time, and to set up in places that might be difficult for SUVs to operate. Both our trailers and SUVs will be working day and night, detecting speeding wherever and whenever it occurs.”
Rear Plates in the Firing Line
Importantly for riders, the new camera technology can now photograph vehicles travelling away as well as towards them. That means motorcycles — which only carry rear number plates — will no longer slip past unnoticed.
Like the SUV-mounted units, the trailer cameras won’t be signposted and are able to monitor both directions of traffic. NZTA says this risk-based, 24/7 operation will make detection more likely for speeding drivers and riders.
The trailers, like the cars, feature extensive security systems including alarms, CCTV monitoring and GPS tracking, with units monitored around the clock to protect both equipment and operators. So we’re unlikely to see any trailers being hooked onto the back of random utes and disappearing into the night.
Macmillan says the expanded rollout is about saving lives:
“Speeding drivers can cause serious and irreparable harm on the roads, including deaths and serious injuries. Evidence shows we can reduce the chances of people being killed or seriously injured in crashes if drivers travel within speed limits, and that is why we have safety cameras.”
With motorcycles now firmly in the scope of these new mobile safety trailers, riders can expect increased enforcement across the country’s high-risk routes in the months ahead.
