Phantom police trick motorists into slowing down

Only one person died during the long Queen's Birthday weekend, the lowest toll for 54 years. Photo / Martin Sykes

Motorists around the country may have been fooled into thinking they would get a speeding ticket during Queen's Birthday weekend, contributing to a dramatic drop in the holiday weekend road toll.

Only one person died during the long weekend, the lowest toll for 54 years.

In a campaign to lower speed and lower the number of deaths during the weekend, police hammered home the message to motorists that if they were caught travelling even 4km/h over the speed limit, they would get a ticket.

However, police have admitted that some patrol cars were left on the side of the road with high visibility jackets hung over the driver's seat and with the speed radars left on.

That gave the impression police were in the car, and the police radars set off warnings in passing cars.

The national manager road policing, Superintendent Paula Rose, said camera vans were also left parked in highly visible areas - whether or not an operator was present.

"The public responded by slowing down, raising their levels of awareness and concentration and really driving to the conditions," she said in the latest issue of the police magazine Ten One.

She said police had used their initiative in a range of ways to ensure the public was left with the impression the roads were saturated with police.

Earlier this year it was revealed most speed camera boxes permanently mounted on the side of the road did not contain a speed camera.

Police admitted they owned only 12 cameras which were rotated around the 56 speed camera boxes in the country.

Ms Rose said in March fixed cameras were stationed at a particular site for a few days or weeks before they were moved to another site. Police also had 43 mobile cameras operated from police vehicles.

- NZPA