Average speed cameras could be extended to monitor all vehicles across New South Wales after a year-long trial recorded a marked improvement in compliance.
The trial, conducted on sections of the Pacific Highway and Hume Highway between May 2025 and 30 June this year, found that the proportion of drivers exceeding the limit fell substantially over the period.
More than 7.7 million cars were recorded while the cameras monitored vehicles on a 15km stretch between Kew and Lake Innes and a 16km section between Coolac and Gundagai.
Speed compliance improved by 76 per cent during the trial. In its first month, one in every 177 cars was detected speeding, compared with one in 330 by the final month.
The technology calculates a vehicle’s average speed by measuring the time taken to travel between separate points. Drivers can then be fined if the system shows they covered the distance too quickly.
Fines in New South Wales range from 149 Australian dollars to 3,064 Australian dollars.
Average speed cameras currently target heavy vehicles
New South Wales already has an extensive network of average speed cameras on major roads and in tunnels, but they currently monitor heavy vehicles only.
The state government said a system covering all vehicles was “likely to deliver clear road safety benefits”. It estimated that the wider use of average speed cameras could cut fatal crashes by up to 17 per cent and serious injury crashes by 13 per cent.
New South Wales is described as the only jurisdiction in the world to restrict average speed cameras to heavy vehicles. The cameras were first introduced in the state in 2010.
A decision on whether to extend monitoring to all vehicles is expected after the state election next March.
