Drivers set to be hit with $40m extra in speeding fines, in revenue windfall for WA’s road safety fund

West Australian drivers will be slugged an extra $40 million in speeding fines over the next four years, in a forecast set to deliver a revenue bonanza to the State Government. The prediction comes as the Government rolls out a range of new technologies across WA roads, including additional Smart Freeway cameras on the Mitchell Freeway to the tune of $6.1 million. “Advancements in road safety technology have created opportunities to address unsafe driving behaviours, including driver distraction and a failure to correctly wear seatbelts,” the budget papers stated. “Trials on Western Australia’s roads and experience from other Australian jurisdictions demonstrate that investment in safety camera technology will influence positive driver behaviour. “The latest road safety camera technology, paired with powerful data analytics, will enable targeted and effective enforcement focused on improved road safety outcomes.”. The extra $40 million, to be paid into the Road Trauma Trust Account, will bring the total revenue over the next four years to $577.6 million. The forecasted bump in speeding fine revenues, revealed in the State budget papers last week, comes as a national trend shows increased rates of drivers going above the speed limit. Despite booking the additional funding and the $6.1 million rollout of new technologies, the State Government said in the budget its prediction of an increase in speeding offences was unknown. “Infringement revenue continues to trend above budgeted expectations and accordingly the revenue projection for the RTTA has been increased by a total of $40 million over the period 2023-24 to 2027-28, which has also been factored into planned expenditure,” a WA Police budget statement read. “Preliminary analysis indicates a steady increase over recent years in the rate of speeding offences, which is consistent with the experience of several other Australian jurisdictions, however further investigation is required to identify the underlying factors for this trend. “Crashes occur due to a range of complex factors and we need to continue improving our understanding of these factors, as well as driver attitudes and behaviour, in order to target effective change and reduce road trauma.” At the last budget, WA Police forecasted revenue of $103 million going into the account, but an updated assessment in the budget shows an 11 per cent increase in actual funds, with $115 million in revenue now projected. Of that, the Department of Transport, which expected to process more than $80 million in speed and red light fines this financial year, upgraded its forecast to $92.5 million in the budget. The account collected a record $123 million from drivers in 2022-2023 and had $95 million sitting in its coffers at the end of the financial year. The RTTA was set up in 2012 to fund road safety projects, such as road upgrades and police enforcement, from money collected from red light and speeding fines. Acting Road Safety Commissioner Rebecca Hamilton said the extra $40 million represented 7 per cent growth in revenue between 2023-24 and 2027-2028. Auditor General Caroline Spencer last year found the Road Safety Council and Road Safety Commission were “not effectively administering” the enormous sums of money pouring in. Ms Spencer found in her report handed down in October that funding applications had not been effectively assessed and that nearly two thirds of projects assessed had no evaluation plan. WA Police said in the budget “substantial progress” had been made in addressing the recommendations of that report. So far in 2024 there have been 65 road fatalities in WA, with 39 of those in regional WA.