Articles > Cameras Enforcing Now: Monash Freeway, Cameras Enforcing Soon
Towards the end of 2013, pairs of gantries with cameras were installed inbound and outbound on the Monash Freeway, between High Street Road and Malvern East railway. Roadside signs were placed about a kiliometre before each set of cameras inbound and outbound, and they stated "CAMERAS ENFORCING SOON".
There are a pair of cameras for each lane, one forwards facing, and one rearward facing. In total, there are 16 new cameras on the M1. The gantries only seems to extend as across the leftmost lane. The cameras for the three other right lanes are mounted at an angle. Because these are forward and rearward-facing cameras, would likely make them used for automated licence plate recognition. Being a heavily used arterial, it is the ideal location to perform automated vehicle licencing and registration checks.
In early January 2014, the signage was changed to "CAMERAS ENFORCING NOW".
Drivers are slowing down cautiously during the approach to the cameras, although this is unnecessary and is causing traffic jams at times. The cameras are not speed cameras, owing to the fact that they are placed in locations where drivers are very unlikely to exceed the speed limit.
The inbound cameras are placed in a 100km/h zone, about a kilometer before the limit changes to 80km/h. As most drivers are already slowing down in anticipation of the 100 to 80km/h change, it is very unlikely that anyone will be speeding at that location.
Similarly, the outbound cameras are placed in a 100km/h zone, immediately after a change of speed from 80km/h to 100km/h. As such, most drivers are only beginning to accelerate from 80km/h, and are unlikely to be anywhere near 100km/h by the time they pass the cameras.