Cameras Mounted on New Bridge Hand Out 246 Speed Tickets in 7 Days
The fresh Bridgewater Bridge, a shiny new link in Hobart, has turned into a money magnet almost overnight, raking in over $41,000 in fines from speeding tickets in its very first week of real operation. After a short grace period finished on August 1, 246 drivers got penalty notices for zooming past the posted limits on the city’s priciest piece of highway.
Speed Drops Immediately, Even with the Pain on Wallets
The wallet-hit is clear, yet the Department of State Growth sees some silver lining. In the week after the tickets started sticking, speeding dropped by about 70 percent compared to the run-up testing days. Officials say the huge dive proves that the cameras are already doing their main job: nagging drivers into slowing down on the 1.2-kilometre stretch of the new bridge over the River Derwent.
“Around 70 percent fewer drivers are speeding since the cameras switched on at the new Bridgewater Bridge, and that’s no accident,” a department spokesperson said. Anyone tempted to zip across the bridge over the limit is being straightforwardly warned: “If you think you won’t be seen, you absolutely will be.”
Drivers Show a Range of Behaviors
Looking at the numbers, it’s clear that speeding is still a problem. Almost half of the reported cases—119 drivers—were going under 10 km/h over the limit, which earned them a minor fine of $102.50 and two demerit points each. But the pattern does much worse than that.
The worst speeding was also the most terrifying: two people were clocked going 45 km/h or more over the limit, and the most reckless driver was going a shocking 55 km/h too fast—caring nothing for a safe 135 km/h ride. For them, the fine is the maximum level: $1,178 and six demerit points.
“A little speeding is still speeding, and more speed always turns up the risk,” the spokesperson said. “A small leap over the limit might look innocent, but when a whole lane does it, the bridge becomes unforgiving. Every motion is somebody’s wrong second, so stay at the limit for every lane.”
Another Big Step for Tasmanian Roads
The Brand-new Bridgewater Bridge, swinging open for traffic on June 1, proudly stands as Tasmania’s priciest road build ever at a hefty $786 million. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff waded through a hot sun at the ribbon-cutting, bragging on how the span will speed the island’s progress.
The good news didn’t last. Less than twelve hours later, social media lit up once more when a short clip showed a sedan smoking its back tires across the shiny new deck. Tasmania Police quickly blasted the “selfish and dangerous show-off,” urging the driver and others to think twice when they hit the pedal.
Tasmanina Keeps the Tech Advantage
The police cameras running full-time on the Bridgewater Bridge aren’t the island’s first brush with high-tech speed-catching. Just months earlier, the Tasman Bridge got the same treatment, swapping dusty, clunky scanners for sleek Sensys Gatso eyes that began watching in early 2025. The older gadgets, chipped into service during the 1990s, were switched off for good in 2022 and 2023.
The new network is a leap and a jump in road safety. Officers have already spotted an upturn in driver patience, and instant, in-your-face tickets remind highway users that speed cameras are sharper and faster than ever. Those hefty fine letters piling onto letterboxes show that any quick slip in attention won’t stay secret for long and that new tech is the policeman watching in the driver’s blind spot.
Hobart drivers are starting to notice the camera shortcuts are here to stay. Officials keep saying the same thing: every snap is being used the way it should, so any little bit over the speed limit will come with a bill, no exceptions.
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