Point-to-point road safety cameras
Point-to-point road safety cameras calculate the average speed of a vehicle by determining the time taken to travel between 2 points.
On this page
- How point-to-point cameras work
- Review of the images taken
- Accuracy
- Penalties for drivers
- Locations
- Research and trials
How point-to-point cameras work
Two or more point-to-point cameras work together as a system. They are placed at individual points along a stretch of road.
They calculate the average speed of vehicles travelling between 2 or more points along a section of road.
Each point uses an in-road sensor to detect vehicles passing through. A camera takes time-stamped digital images of the vehicles driving past.
The system is able to pull from a digital image the number plate of a vehicle. It uses optical character recognition technology to do this. This information is used to match the record at each of the camera points to track individual vehicles.
The cameras also measure the speed of passing vehicles at that location.
The system knows how much time it should take a vehicle that is not speeding to drive between the 2 points. If the time a vehicle takes is shorter than that time, the system calculates the average speed of the vehicle was over the speed limit. It flags the incident for review and verification.
Review of the images taken
When point-to-point camera system images are flagged, Victoria Police reviews the images. If Victoria Police confirms the image captured an offence, an infringement is issued.
Images that are not confirmed as an offence, either by the camera system or by Victoria Police, are not kept.
Accuracy
The shortest distance between 2 camera points is measured by an approved surveyor. The surveyor certificates are provided along with the camera test certificates.
As stated in the Road Safety Act 1986, the point-to-point average speed formula is based on the shortest distance between 2 points and the time taken to travel between these points.
Penalties for drivers
Drivers caught infringing by a point-to-point camera system may have a speeding offence recorded and receive a fine, demerit points or licence suspension.
Locations
Victoria currently uses point-to-point camera systems in 2 fixed locations.
They are located along parts of:
Research and trials
Mobile point-to-point camera systems
Mobile point-to-point cameras are not currently used in Victoria.
The Department of Justice and Community Safety is planning to trial the use of mobile point-to-point cameras. These cameras will be tested to understand how well they work and how accurate and reliable they are. The cameras will not be used for enforcement when being trialled.
Road safety benefits
Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) evaluated Victoria’s fixed freeway cameras, including the point-to-point systems on the Hume Freeway and Peninsula Link.
The study confirmed that point-to-point cameras in fixed-camera locations are effective and provide a measurable benefit to road safety.
Additionally, MUARC’s modelling of mobile operations indicated that mobile point-to-point cameras can provide a road safety benefit, especially on rural and outer-metro roads.
Updated 11 August 2023
About the VIC Government
- The Premier and ministers
- Find a Vic Gov department, agency or service
- Strategies and policies
- Inquiries and royal commissions
Grants and programs
Jobs and careers
Arts, culture and heritage
Business and the workplace
- Mentally Healthy Workplaces Framework
- Portable Long Service Authority
- Victoria’s racing industry
- Workforce Inspectorate Victoria
- Liquor licensing, sale and supply
Communities
- Children
- First Peoples - State Relations
- Finding records
- Gender equality & women’s leadership
- LGBTIQA+ equality
- Multicultural communities
- Seniors Online
- Veterans support and commemoration
- Volunteering in Victoria
- Youth Central
Education and training
- Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority
- Early childhood education – information for professionals
- Kinder: Best Start, Best Life
- Education – information for parents
- Schools.Vic - information for schools
- Education grants, programs, awards and events
- PROTECT
- TAFE, training and universities sector
- TAFE Victoria
- Victorian Skills Authority
- Apprenticeships Victoria
- Learn Local
Environment, water and energy
Finance and economy
Health and social support
- Family violence reform
- NDIS Worker Screening Check
- NDIS and disability services and support in Victoria
- Patient Review Panel
- Transforming Trauma Victoria
Housing and property
Law and justice
- Adoption
- Births, deaths and marriages
- Honorary justices
- Machete ban
- Safeguarding Victorians against terrorism
- Stolen Generations Reparations Package
- Victims of Crime
- Victorian Racing Tribunal
Safety and emergencies
- Emergency Recovery Victoria
- Victorian Emergency Relief and Recovery Foundation
- Emergency Recovery Resource Portal
- How well do you know fire
- Fire Services Reform
- Water safety
- Marine Search and Rescue
Science and technology
- Data sharing and open data
- Data.vic - discover and access Vic Gov open data
- Developer.Vic - portal for API developers
- Go.vic URL shortener
- Vic Gov IT project dashboard
- Victoria’s free public wi-fi network
- Cyber security in the Victorian Government
Sport and recreation
Traffic and transport
- Cameras Save Lives
- Transport Fines
- Getting Around
- Transport Planning
- Transport Future
- Climate Change and transport
- Future Directions For Transport
- Transport projects
- Ports and Freight
Working in the Victorian Government
- Single Digital Presence home
- Accommodation and Library Services
- Executive employment in the Victorian public sector
- Budget, procurement and funding
- Careers in the Victorian Government
- Council and Regulator Toolkit
- Guidelines for working in government
- Join a government network
- Standards and guidelines
- VicFleet CarPool
- Victorian Government style guide