IDIOT do-gooders are faking roadside incidents to block mobile speed cameras from nabbing speeding drivers at some of the state’s worst accident blackspots in an illegal social media campaign that is putting lives at risk.

The “Block Their Shot” Facebook page is urging drivers to pretend they have broken down directly behind camera vans, thereby obscuring their view of approaching cars.

The site features photos of motorists parked behind vans with their car hoods up, some with sun umbrellas, or towing boats, caravans or trailers, and even a cyclist fixing a punctured tyre, directly in the camera’s line of sight. Another photo shows the rear window of a camera van covered by brown paper and sticky tape.

The site’s founders claim the cameras are simply a revenue raiser and that speeding offences should be dealt with by the police.

But the Roads and Maritime Service claim the 45 mobile cameras are an essential safety measure which are regularly placed at 640 well-known danger zones with a high number of deaths or serious injuries.

The campaign already has more than 28,400 “Likes”. Many of the site’s supporters are apparently motoring enthusiasts who drive high-powered cars.

Now the government is threatening to introduce heavy fines to shut the site and the campaign down.

An exasperated Roads Minister Duncan Gay said yesterday: “I hope these idiots grow up so I don’t have to put draconian fines in place. If they don’t stop this stupidity I will take action.”

The site’s founder could not be contacted for comment but has written online: “Letting people know that mobile speed cameras are not police, they are a business, and I think it’s time to take a stand and ‘block their shot’.”

media_camera Images posted on the Block Their Shot Facebook page. media_camera Images posted on the Block Their Shot Facebook page.

media_camera A cyclist blocks the mobile speed cameras. media_camera This inflatable boat blocks the speeds cameras.

media_camera Images posted on the Block Their Shot Facebook page. media_camera Images posted on the Block Their Shot Facebook page.

But the campaign has been condemned by leading road safety expert as “foolish” and “irresponsible”.

Professor of Road Safety at the University of NSW, Raphael Grzebieta (Grzebieta) fears it will lead to death and injury because it will encourage drivers to deliberately break speed limits.

“The people pictured on the Facebook site are hindering safety by encouraging people to break the law,” he said. “If people don’t think they will not be caught by the cameras, they may think about speeding.

media_camera Two women post of a picture of themselves on the Block Their Shot Facebook page, showing their vehicle parked behind the mobile speed cameras.

“Speed limits are put in place to stop people from travelling at risky speeds that could lead to a vehicle drifting onto the wrong side of the road or leaving the road on a bend.

“This Facebook page is hindering the process of trying to get everyone to travel at the safe speed limit.

“Do they want to have the deaths and injury of other motorists on their conscience?”

The campaign comes as record numbers of motorists are being caught by the mobile cameras after the state government increased the amount of hours they operate.

From July this year the cameras have been snapping speeding drivers for a total of 7000 hours a month. Last year the state’s 45 mobile cameras only operated for a total 930 hours per month.

Between January and October 2014, the amount collected in speeding fines from mobile cameras jumped from about $310,000 to $1.35 million per month, figures from the Office of State Revenue show.

The number of fines leapt from 1590 in January to more than 5200 in October.

General manager at the government’s Centre for Road Safety, Marg Prendergast, said the cameras are now used at 640 locations, where there has been a combined total of 132 deaths and 5230 injuries per year. These locations cover around 6000km of the road network.

Ms Prendergast said the mobile speed camera locations will be expanded to other areas based on crash risk to maximise the road safety benefits of the program.

The cameras are operated by two private contractor, Redflex Traffic Systems Australia and Jenoptik Australia.

SPEEDING CAUSES DEATH ON OUR ROADS

Illegal or inappropriate speed contributes to more than 40 per cent of NSW road deaths.

Figures from the NSW Centre for Road Safety show that close to 40 per cent of fatal road crashes occur on country roads where the speed limit is greater than 80km/h.

In the 12 months to the end of November, 2014, excessive speed was blamed for 127 (42.1pc) fatal crashes on NSW roads, by far the single biggest cause of road deaths.

Fatigue was linked to 16.6pc of deadly crashes, followed by alcohol at 12.1pc.

In early September four young people were killed in a suspected high speed crash on the Pacific Highway at Newrybar, on the far north cast.

Driver Jessica Camidge was killed along with Samantha Enright, 17, Richard Wells, 18 and William Manton, 20 died after trying to overtake a semi-trailer.

In the first week of December, 17 year old Chloe Hardy and Jake Ibister, 21, died when a ute rolled into an irrigation canal after allegedly speeding near Leeton, in the Riverina. A man, 19, on his Ps, was charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death.