Beware Awanui's yellow brick road

It's been named Northland's most lucrative speed camera site, the 2730 tickets issued there over the last financial year representing more than 10 per cent of Northland's total.

A distant second was SH1 south of Waipu Gorge Road (2053), third SH11 near Bay of Islands College, Kawakawa (2020), fourth South Road Kaitaia (1408), fifth SH12 Ruawai (1404) and sixth Whangarei's Tarewa Road (1234).

Police weren't about to make any apologies for issuing the tickets, however, or the more than 26,000 total in Northland, saying if people objected to paying fines they shouldn't speed. And Senior Sergeant Steve Dickson had no time for the theory that speed cameras had more to do with gathering revenue than road safety.

In fact they were part of a multi-suite approach to road safety, and were "definitely working" in terms of reducing speeds and making roads safer.

"Speed cameras are just one of the tools we use to reduce speed," Senior Sergeant Dickson said.

"[Speed camera] sites are put through an application process involving the NZ Transport Agency, police, local councils and others, and are chosen because they are recognised as risk areas for crashes."

He cited Northland's record low road toll of seven last year and a reducing national road toll as evidence that cameras were helping improve road safety. (As of yesterday Northland's toll for this year provisionally stood at 12. Editor).

"When we get speed cameras issuing no tickets at all we will be happy. It will mean we have done our job," he added.

The 26,073 tickets issued in Northland over the year represented fines of $2,093,970. The national figure was $49,172,330.