Tassie speed camera vigilante fined for moving mobile units

A Tasmanian man claims he took one for the team by disabling a portable speed camera, resulting in hefty fines.

Pulse Tasmania reports 43-year-old Launceston local Nicholas Groom pleaded guilty to ‘interfering with an offence detection device’ at the Launceston Magistrates Court on Monday.

Mr Groom was charged after he was caught tilting the lens of a mobile speed camera away from the road on February 7, rendering the camera unable to detect speeding vehicles until it could be repositioned.

Mr Groom’s explanation to police for moving the camera? He believed he was “doing the public [a] service and saving them from fines”.

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Accurate on one front, perhaps, but Magistrate Ken Stanton disagreed with his vigilante philosophy.

Ironically, it was the camera itself that captured Mr Groom’s offence, leading to a $900 fine.

It wasn’t the accused man’s first run-in with the law, with the court hearing he had six prior drunk driving offences.

‘Tower” style speed cameras were introduced in Tasmania in 2022, and have since generated in excess of $10 million in fines revenue.

Since August 2023, the same cameras have also been used to fine drivers for mobile phone and seatbelt-related offences.