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The big question – are speed cameras there purely for safety or there to raise revenue?

A new report just out says Tasmania’s police force has revealed it sets ‘internal targets’ to combat dangerous driver behaviour, but denies this is an attempt to raise revenue from speeding motorists.

An auditor-general’s report last year shows there are more speed cameras on roads with speed limits below 60 kilometres an hour. However police figures show a higher percentage of fatalities happen on roads with speed limits between 100 and 110 kilometres an hour. They also reveal that only 2 of the state’s top 10 crash locations are also top speed detection sites.

The figures have sparked accusations that police are deliberately targeting busy urban streets to raise revenue from fines. Assistant Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard admits police set internal targets, but denies they are trying to make money from speed cameras.

Tasmanian police have more than 170 mobile speed detection devices and fixed cameras to use throughout the state.

However think yourself lucky with a $100 or $200 fine in Australia, ’Britain’s Got Talent’ judge Piers Morgan has been fined for driving at 51 mph in a 30 mph zone in Brighton after making a personal appearance at a school in the city. The former newspaper editor was handed a £666 (about $1,200) fine and had six points added to his driving licence after submitting a postal guilty plea. And if you think that is costly… Next time you’re in Switzerland driving down a windy village road at the foothills of the Alps, you may want to make sure you’re either very mindful of the police or very poor.

If you decide you want to speed your way through Switzerland, be warned there is no such thing as a standard fine for driving say, 35 mph over the limit. No, no, no. If you’re caught speeding in the land of fine watches and neutrality and you have a lot of money, you better hope you’ve kept your money stashed somewhere the Swiss can’t find it (a Swiss bank account?)

A 53-year-old man learned that lesson after receiving a record-setting fine of nearly $290,000 for driving 85 mph in a 50 mph zone through the small town of St. Gallen. Adding insult to injury, he was driving a car worth a fraction of the fine — a Ferrari Testarossa.

Why the hefty fine for a mere 35 over the limit? In 2002 Swiss voters approved replacing prison terms for some offences, including speeding, with fines based on your income. According to Tages Anzeiger, the lead-footed driver has an annual income of more than $820,000 and is worth well over $20 million And another tip if you are caught and given a hefty fine in Switzerland: Don’t make any big claims to try and get out of the ticket. The Testarossa driver was initially fined a little less than $90,000 by the local jurisdiction. That was raised to $145,000 by the next court after the driver claimed diplomatic immunity, saying he is diplomat from the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. That didn’t sway the court, which boosted the fine to $290,000.