Australia experienced a national decline in road deaths in 2004 of 1.5%, but don't credit the heavy use of speed cameras. A close examination of the latest statistics shows that in Victoria, where camera and traditional speed enforcement was heaviest, accidents increased. In the Northern Territory, where there is no speed limit, accidents dropped 34%.

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Ironically, the second greatest fatality increase occurred in Victoria, whose model in speed, camera and traffic enforcement is often touted by our own LTSA. There were 343 deaths there, for an increase of 13, giving a rise of 3.9%.



More irony was found in the score for speed limit free Northern Territory, which experienced the largest reduction in fatalities with 35 deaths in 2004, compared to 53 in the previous year, a drop of 34%.

The latest national road toll numbers gleaned from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) reveal that 1596 people were killed on Australian roads during 2004, a drop of 25 compared with 2003.