Australia can be a minefield when it comes to speeding. With the act being one of the major killers on the road, state authorities have invested in speed cameras, surveillance and patrol vehicles to crack down on it.
Every now and then, you might have a lapse in judgment, causing you to exceed the speed limit without even knowing. You might even be more unlucky passing a patrol vehicle, only to look down at the speedometer and see you’re over the limit.
You look in your rear-view mirror to see that the vehicle hasn’t followed you, but there is still that nerve-racking feeling that you may get a fine in the mail at some point.
But is this actually the case? Or do they need to pull you over for you to receive a fine?
Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
Do the police need to be stopped to check your speed?
Highway patrol officers do not need to be out of the vehicle with an actual radar gun to flag your speed, nor do they need to input your registration into their computer.
All Highway Patrol vehicles are equipped with advanced systems that automatically read licence plates and alert drivers if the vehicle is unregistered, stolen, or flagged for other purposes.
They are also fitted with fixed and hand-held speed check devices (lidar and radar).
The standard fixed radar can be configured in two different modes: mobile mode, when officers are on the move, and stationary mode. Police vehicles in NSW are capable of obtaining speeds of vehicles approaching from long distances.
"It will pick up cars from 600 metres away, and in some cases it will pick up further," said Highway Patrol Chief Inspector Mark Cook in a previous Drive story.
"It depends on size, it depends on speed, it depends on surroundings, and it also comes down to the training of the officer and them being able to operate it."
Highway patrol officers do not rely on their vehicle's factory-fitted speedometer to record speed due to inaccuracies. Instead, each vehicle is fitted with a digital speedometer that sits atop the dashboard and conveys a readout that is calibrated from the car's differential.
Do the police need to pull you over to fine you?
The short answer is no, the police do not need to pull you over to fine you, but it’s unlikely for them to fine you through the mail in most cases, unless in the case of a major infringement.
We contacted all state police authorities for a solid answer, and the ones that did reply provided a vague answer.
Many state authorities directed us to their fines and demerit pages, where it is said that you can either receive a fine from a police officer, or fixed and mobile cameras, and you will receive the fine “in person as an ‘on-the-spot’ fine, electronically, by mail, email, or text, or attached to your vehicle”.
South Australian police provided Drive with a statement that technically means the highway patrol has the power to mail you a fine for certain offences, but must pull you over for some of them.
“If you are detected speeding by a uniformed police officer, you will be signalled to stop. Failing to stop when directed to do so can constitute an offence. In the circumstances where a driver is not stopped by police at the time of the alleged offence, police will make further enquiries to identify the driver. There are other circumstances where fines may be issued by mail, such as using a mobile phone when driving and driving unregistered/uninsured.”
Queensland is an outlier and uses a device called 'TruCAM'. It is roughly the size and shape of a typical hand-held radar gun, but it actually has a camera attached that can automatically issue fines.
This practice has garnered controversy as it was found that the system did not meet the legislative requirements of what is called a 'data block'. A data block relates to the marking or writing made by a photographic detection device, which is then attached to an image or video made by the device used in the fining process.
It was found that the TruCAMs cannot imprint the time, place and speed on the spot, with police instead adding that information later, which goes against the legislation.
For all other states, what is confirmed, varying slightly from state to state but mostly the same, by section 651 of the Local Government Act 1993, is that police have the power to fine you without pulling you over for a parking infringement, which includes demerit point fines for school zones and clearways.
This is the process that reaches the point of diminishing returns for minor speeding offences; the set legislative processes make it difficult to simply issue a fine for speeding observed by a police officer when a decision is not made to pursue you.
However, there is a point where speed becomes classified as 'excessive' and can actually force you into a court case. For most states it is 30km/h over the speed limit, for some others it is 45km/h, and in Victoria it is 30km/h or a total speed of 130km/h and beyond.
If you are observed excessively speeding, you can expect a knock on your door from the police, who will legally demand the identification of the driver. Failure to provide this information could result in a fine of nearly $5000 and/or a two-month prison sentence. The same goes for vehicles that fail to stop when directed by police and instead choose to evade.
This idea also applies to dangerous driving practices like hooning; police can demand the driver's identity and prosecute without needing to observe the vehicle in person. It can be as simple as a video posted online or a video tip-off.
In basic terms, for most states, besides Queensland, passing a police car slightly over the speed limit will, in most cases, not result in a fine unless the car pulls you over. However, performing obvious illegal acts on the road will likely see the police at your front door.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
