In a surprising turn of events, thousands of speeding fines issued on a bustling street have been rescinded.

The reason? State police discovered that motorists were unaware of a recent reduction in the speed limit.

This revelation has led to the withdrawal of 3,904 fines issued to drivers on Arden St in North Melbourne.

It included tickets issued between 1 July 2023 and 3 January 2024.

Victoria Police rescinded 3,904 issued fines. Image source: fanjianhua on Freepik.

The speed limit on Arden St was reduced from 60km/h to 40km/h in April of the previous year.

However, it seems that this change was not adequately communicated to the public, leading to a significant number of drivers unknowingly breaking the law.

'Victoria Police identified significantly high levels of non-compliance at this location,' a spokesperson for Victoria Police said.

'It appears this is likely due to drivers being unaware the speed limit had recently been reduced.'

'In fairness to affected drivers, fines issued will be withdrawn.'

However, it's important to note that fines issued for motorists travelling above the previous speed limit of 60km/h are not being withdrawn.

The decision to change the speed limit was made by the City of Melbourne.

'Residents asked us to improve safety and traffic management in North Melbourne during community consultation undertaken in 2022,' the City of Melbourne said.

'Since April 2023, we’ve been reducing speeds around north and west Melbourne to create consistent speed limits that improve safety for all road users.'

The community was informed of the change through various means, including road signs, a mail-out to almost 15,000 local properties, 40 road pavement markings at various intersections, and updates to the Participate Melbourne and City of Melbourne websites.

The new speed limits have been reviewed and approved by the Victorian government and were supported by Victoria Police, VicRoads, and the Transport Accident Commission.

In other news, hundreds of drivers have been caught by a 'sneaky' speed camera in an infamous 'nightmare' speed limit zone on the M4 Motorway in Sydney—one of Australia's busiest roads.

A flurry of hefty fines have been issued to motorists, including a $2,710 penalty for one.

Fayaz Khan, the unfortunate recipient of this hefty fine, argued that the speed limit changes are confusing and can lead to accidents.

Khan plans to contest the fine in court and has even considered forming a class action with other drivers who were also fined.

You can read more about this here.

Key Takeaways

• Thousands of speeding fines issued on Arden St in North Melbourne have been withdrawn by Victoria Police.
• Motorists were fined under the belief they were exceeding the speed limit, not realising it had decreased from 60km/h to 40km/h.
• The high number of infringements suggested that drivers were unaware of the recent change, prompting police to act in fairness and withdraw the fines.
• The City of Melbourne was responsible for the speed limit change, and fines for driving above the old limit of 60km/h will not be withdrawn.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Have you ever received a fine due to an uncommunicated change in speed limit? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

 

[Rob44]

Only your opinion that density is so much different. On the road at any given time there is a high density of people near and crossing roads. So I guess it's okay to be killing people at higher speeds because there's not enough people to worry about?
Or through school zones, Europe 30, we are 40 but I guess that's okay our kids don't matter as much.
I also mentioned the USA, notice you don't acknowledge that - their 15 mph limits through school zones and many residential areas, even in regional towns, oh is their density high there............NO.
You may not care about other people I do, I'm not selfish like you, I don't feel I'm more important so I should be able to go faster because I "need" to.

Yes Australia is behind many other countries in world standards when it comes to speed limits.

Did I not indicate that there are horses for courses? Local conditions prevail. Your sweeping generalisations and pretence to know what I consider sensible speeds in different areas simply waste space. As for personal insults pertaining to my character........Fare thee well.

 

[freedy50]

Europe is somewhat more densely populated than Oz, and its single carriageway roads are often narrow, have lots of bends and there is considerable more traffic on them than the farm tractor. The USA's 55mph limit is daft.

The standard UK limit in built-up areas used to be 30mph. I suppose we could bring back having a man carrying a red flag walking in front of a line of cars?

All roads in London are now 20mph even some main roads.

 

[freedy50]

At least they've been honest about it.
On a main road in London that had a speed limit of 50mph (80kmh) they were doing work so put it down to 40mph(64kmh).

They finished that and made the limit 40 all the time with hardly any publicity, but never took away the 50mph signs, so a lot of drivers have been fined because they thought it was still 50. They've been appealing about it but the police have said the fines will still stand.

 

[Rob44]

All roads in London are now 20mph even some main roads.

My recollection of London is that would be pretty well the normal speed one could average because of road conditions, pedestrians, parked cars etc. As for the M25 coming from Heathrow; also known as the slowest moving parking lot in England. 50 years ago I used to wonder why people in London bothered owning a car; the underground railway system was excellent at that time and buses or one's bicycle were useful for filling in the gaps if one didn't want to walk.

 

[Chicky]

Don't people look at signs anymore. My husband and I paid the price for not looking at a new sign years ago. We parked in a spot that we had parked in many times only to be fined because the council had put a No Parking sign there. And a police officer was passing and saw us. Now I look at the signs as there is no Pre Warning about any changes.

 

[Niggles]

I recieved two speeding fines at the same location within a week. It use to be 70, reduced to 60. The confusing issue is, on the other side of the road as you are heading into Yamanto it is 70 reducing to 60. It is on the corner of Wawick Rd, Yamanto at i/s with Cunningham Highway.
My only income is the old age pension. I have never had an accident or a speeding fine in 51 years of driving. What pains me is I get no rewards for an excellent record, instead I get stung for two fines at $309.00 each.
Both times, I didn't realise I was speeding at 67 because I thought I was in an area of the road where I thought I was allowed to be approaching 70, just before hitting the open road.
They say to keep your eyes on the road. A pretty hard thing to do when you are constantly having to look up for the little round circles marked with the speed limit. They also seem so far apart between signs and can be hard to find.
The other issue I have is if I had been notified earlier of my 1st infringement, I would have in no way made the 2nd infringement.
I feel completely duped and there is nobody to talk to to explain my situation outside of taking it to court.
The robotic camera without a heart and no empathy of understanding seems to rule.

 

[Ezzy]

3,904 drivers fined between 1 July 2023 & 3 Jan 2024 will have their fines cancelled because they were unaware of the change in the speed limit. Did any of those drivers receive a fine before realising a speed reduction in this area?

Those figures amount to approx less than 21 cars per day over a 24 hour period. Not a huge number, which makes me ask, HOW MANY REGULAR DRIVERS ALONG THAT ROUTE NOTICED THE CHANGE OF SPEED SIGNS???

 

[freedy50]

My recollection of London is that would be pretty well the normal speed one could average because of road conditions, pedestrians, parked cars etc. As for the M25 coming from Heathrow; also known as the slowest moving parking lot in England. 50 years ago I used to wonder why people in London bothered owning a car; the underground railway system was excellent at that time and buses or one's bicycle were useful for filling in the gaps if one didn't want to walk.

That's a good summary. Not much has actually changed.