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Police in South Australia will now close more than a hundred intersections with red-light cameras once a month to test them and will suspend the collecting of all red-light fines in the wake of a Supreme Court judgement.

SA Police has suspended collecting fines for running a red light in South Australia and will temporarily close 134 intersections once a month in response to a Supreme Court judgement.
Key points:

  • Offending drivers will not have to pay fines for now
  • Red-light cameras will still be catching those who run red lights
  • SA Police will have to close 134 intersections each month to test the cameras

Once every 28 days, multiple police officers will be dispatched to close each intersection with a red-light camera so they can be tested.
And all fines for running a red light that have been issued but not yet paid will not be collected for the time being, and no new expiations will be issued while SA Police seeks legal advice.
The move is in response to a Supreme Court judgement last week that overturned a man’s fine for running a red light because the camera had not been tested properly.
Justice Greg Parker found David Woolmer’s fine and conviction were invalid because the red-light camera in question had not been tested while a vehicle actually passes through the intersection during a red light, as required by regulations.
Legal experts said that the judgement would have implications for similar cases.
The judgement overturned a decision of a lower court, which said the regulation could not reasonably mean intersections had to be closed every 28 days to test the accuracy of cameras.
But that is exactly what will now happen.
Testing will block traffic at intersections once a month
In a statement this afternoon, SA Police acknowledged closing intersections every 28 days would cause major traffic obstruction.
“The Supreme Court judgement requires a testing process involving police vehicles activating the red-light camera in controlled conditions,” the statement said.
“This will inevitably cause traffic obstruction, however, this is unavoidable and will be managed as safely as possible to minimise disruption.
“SAPOL will commence the closure of intersections to conduct drive-through tests in accordance with the judgement as soon as possible.”
Solicitor Karen Stanley said if SAPOL does not make changes to its testing requirements, the judgement could affect all unfinalised fines.(ABC News: Eugene Boisvert)
Cameras will continue to catch offenders
SA Police stressed that red-light cameras would continue to catch offenders and that running a red light was one of the most dangerous actions a driver could take.
But anyone caught by the cameras who had yet to pay their fine, and anyone caught since the judgement was handed down last Friday, will not have to pay up, at least for now.
SA Police emphasised that it had “absolute confidence” in its red-light camera system.
“However, we acknowledge that as a result of this judgement, we are obliged to review our testing and checking processes while we seek advice in relation to the Supreme Court decision,” the police statement said.
“All unpaid expiation notices issued prior to the judgement on 2 October 2020 and any offences detected from the date of the judgment will be suspended pending the outcome of the advice.”
Suspension may defer thousands of fines
State Government data shows about 23,500 fines were handed out for failing to obey red or yellow traffic lights in the 2019-20 financial year.
Total fines for the offences during that period were worth $13.3 million.
That equates to around 1,900 fines worth $1.1 million to government coffers each month.
The State Government declined to comment on Wednesday but Police Commissioner Grant Stevens is expected to address the situation publicly on Thursday morning.