The camera started snapping speeding motorists on May 11 and has already seen 1729 tickets issued.

A speed camera recently installed at Temuka has hauled in more than $200,000 in fines in its first few weeks operating.

The camera, which started snapping speeding motorists on May 11, has seen 1729 tickets issued – four of those to motorists travelling more than 40kmh over the 80kmh speed limit.

The static (fixed) safe speed camera was installed in the 80kmh zone, near the corner of State Highway 1 and Georgetown Rd, Arowhenua, at the southern entrance to the town, as part of a $10 million plan to boost safety in high-risk crash areas across the country.

DOUG FIELD/STUFF The camera has seen 1729 tickets issued - four of those to motorists travelling more than 40kmh over the 80kmh speed limit.

New Zealand Police figures, obtained by Stuff under the Official Information Act, show from May 11 to June 7, 1729 tickets were generated by the camera.

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Mid and South Canterbury police area commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said he was surprised by the "level of notices" that it had been giving out.

DOUG FIELD/STUFF The speed camera at Temuka which has been in action since May.

Gaskin said the speed limit in the area is sign posted so there were no excuses for speeding.

"The speed limit is clear," Gaskin said.

"Anyone who speeds deserves a ticket and I'm happy it's doing its job."

DOUG FIELD/STUFF The speed camera at Temuka on Thursday.

New Zealand Police national manager road policing Superintendent Steve Greally declined to provide Stuff with the highest speed the camera had caught a vehicle travelling at.

"Police are concerned that the publication of the highest speed recorded may trivialise or sensationalise high speeds and potentially create an environment where people may attempt to exceed the highest recorded speed," Greally said.

However, the figures show that 336 vehicles were ticketed travelling at least 20kmh over the 80kmh speed limit. Of those, 218 were travelling between 100kmh and 104kmh, 81 between 105kmh and 109kmh, 25 at 110kmh to 114kmh, eight at 115kmh to 119kmh and four travelling above 120kmh.

A breakdown of the numbers by speed band, and time of day, show the most common time of day for tickets to be issued was between 7pm and 8pm with 138 issued.

In New Zealand speeding fines increase progressively from $30 for speeds less than 10kmh over the limit, to a maximum fine of $630 for speeds up to 50kmh over the limit.

At more than 40kmh above the speed limit, a motorist can also face a 28-day licence suspension and at more than 50kmh over the limit could be charged with careless, dangerous or reckless driving.

The figures show tickets issued to those caught travelling between 11kmh and 14kmh over the limit generated $70,480 worth of fines – with 881 tickets at $80 a pop.

Those travelling 15kmh to 19kmh over the limit racked up i$61,440 worth of fines with 512 $120 tickets issued.

The Temuka speed camera is set up as a single camera and a flash unit, mounted on a single pole that has a footprint of about half a square metre along the roadway, Greally said.

"These cameras use a dual radar system.

"Signals from the radars reflect off vehicles and back to the camera. One radar identifies speeding vehicles by measuring vehicle speed three times in quick succession and taking the middle speed. The second radar identifies the lane the vehicle is in and double-checks the speed reading. If the vehicle exceeds the speed enforcement threshold, the camera takes a photograph. The camera is also able to differentiate between vehicles such as heavy trucks and cars which have different speed limits."

The cameras operate for traffic driving in both directions.

Meanwhile, Canterbury's other static speed camera – on Leeston Rd, near Springston in the Selwyn district – has caught 108 speeders since it became operational in March.

Five speeding drivers were caught in March, while 15 were caught in April and 88 in May.

The 108 fines were worth $11310.

A police spokeswoman said there are three mobile speed cameras in Canterbury to date.

The Static Camera Expansion Programme will expand the static safe speed camera fleet to 56 high crash risk locations across the road network. It was unknown how many more cameras were to be installed in Christchurch.