By Pranav Harish For Daily Mail Australia
05:43 16 Jun 2024, updated 08:20 16 Jun 2024
Aussies have blamed a mobile speed camera operator for ripping up a lawn while trying to park on the roadside.
The vehicle, which detects whether motorists are speeding, was spotted by drivers on a patch of lawn in Lindfield, on Sydney‘s Upper North Shore.
Pictures of the vehicle were shared to Facebook and showed that the vehicle had left several tyre marks behind the warning sign.
The marks were more prominent as the ground was wet as a result of heavy rain that had been dumped on the region over the past few days.
Locals were furious about the damage and expressed their frustration on social media.
‘How do we stop these speed checking cars from parking on the green verge,’ one wrote.
‘Surely they can check our speed from a legally parked car on the road,’ another added.
Others chimed in by saying the tyre marks are among the many issues affecting roads and kerbsides that need to be fixed, such as potholes.
According to Transport for NSW, mobile speed cameras ‘can be moved around at different times and locations.’
Residents across Sydney have expressed their anger over the placement of speed cameras in various locations.
Many locals have claimed that the cameras are intentionally hidden behind parked cars, so they cannot be detected by motorists.
Some have claimed speed camera warnings signs were placed behind bins left on the kerbside.
‘You’ll see warning signs coming up to and after mobile speed cameras as well as a sign on top of the mobile speed camera vehicle, when they’re in operation, so you know your speed is being checked,’ the Transport for NSW website states.
According to the Road Amendment (Miscellaneous) Rule 2020 under the Road Transport Act 2013, vehicles being used for traffic enforcement rules are exempt from parking rules relating to nature strips.
These vehicles include mobile speed cameras and transportable mobile phone detection cameras.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia, mobile speed camera vehicles are parked in areas that are permitted to be used to detect speeding offences.
‘All approved sites have undergone an analysis which considered a number of criteria including crash history and assessments of WHS (work health and safety) and technical requirements, the spokesperson said.
‘There is a parking exemption in the NSW Road Rules that allows mobile speed cameras to operate from the verge or nature strip.’
The spokesperson also said this exemption prevents motorists from parking their vehicles close to mobile speed camera vehicles, which can reduce visibility.
There are around 2,700 Mobile Speed Camera sides that are currently available for speed camera operates to use across NSW.
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