An Australian motorist is outraged by a speed camera vehicle that he says was 'illegally' on a nature strip.
Bus driver Darren Brown believes the operator endangered drivers by parking an all-terrain vehicle on a nature strip between a road and the entrance to a petrol station.
The incident occurred on November 15 at Long Jetty on the New South Wales central coast.
Mr Brown shared his frustrations on social media in a Facebook post.
A concerned bus driver expressed his anger at a speed camera vehicle parked on the nature strip on New South Wales' central coast
“It seems like this unscrupulous, and I'm pretty sure illegal, thing is starting all over again. I thought we were past this,” he wrote.
'This idiot is obstructing the safe exit from the business, with the car blocking the view in a restricted zone and parked on a footpath.
“I took these pictures and the villain decided to pack up. Funny that.'
Mr Brown said he did not care whether the act was legal or not.
'He was obstructing trade in that business and on a footpath. “I don't care if it was the grass part of the sidewalk,” he said Yahoo News.
Mr Brown said he has filed a complaint with the Department of Transport.
Transport NSW said it reviewed the enforcement session on The Entrance Road at Long Jetty on November 15 and “found it to be in accordance with established policies and procedures”.
“The mobile speed camera vehicle did not appear to obstruct the footpath or driveway,” a spokesperson said Yahoo.
The spokesperson also said NSW Road Rules stipulate speed cameras had a parking exemption that allowed them to operate from the roadside or nature strip.
“But this does not apply if access is obstructed to footpaths, cycle paths, driveways or similar access roads,” the spokesperson said.
'Allowing parking in nature reserves is in line with the intention of the mobile speed camera program to deter speeding violations “anywhere and anytime”.
Many social media users reacted angrily to Mr Brown's Facebook post.
Mr Brown said the act was 'unconscionable' and committed by a 'low life'.
Warning signs must be displayed around mobile speed cameras (stock image shown)
“If that had been the case, an average member of the public car park on a footpath would be fined by a council warden,” said one concerned local resident.
“Rules for some, but not for others… if this is not monetization what it is.”
'Imagine if we, the common man, would park like this?' asked another.
'I get it [the exemption], still doesn't mean they can park in a dangerous place. I bet they won't admit it if they cause a fatal accident.'
While another said: 'If they do this I would park to block them.'
Others, however, seemed to side with the Flash
“The line of sight was not blocked,” one person said, adding that there was enough distance to see approaching traffic.
“Behind the exclusion zone it is legal and they have grass parking permits issued by the RMS,” another commented.
In 2020, the New South Wales government removed warning signs around mobile speed cameras in an attempt to change the culture and behavior of motorists.
A sharp increase in fines followed, with NSW drivers committing $40 million in mobile speed camera offenses in just 12 months.
Authorities then turned around and reintroduced the warning signs in January 2023.
By law, there must now be four signs around all mobile speed cameras.
The flash vehicle must also have a retractable roof sign mounted on it.