Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson caught speeding on Story Bridge, fined $133

POLICE Commissioner Bob Atkinson has been caught speeding on the Story Bridge – a blunder he has revealed two days after police and The Courier-Mail launched a road safety campaign.

Mr Atkinson was caught on February 3 and was believed to be travelling at 70km/h in a 60km/h zone. He will lose one demerit point and pay a fine of $133.

Mr Atkinson said he was embarrassed because of his position and because he had just been promoting the road safety message to media. "I feel as though I've let you down, I feel as though I've let my colleagues down (and) I feel as though I've let the community down," he told reporters in Brisbane.

He has blamed the offence on a lapse in concentration. He told reporters that he did not see the speed camera flash while he was driving with a colleague to police headquarters. "It was brought to my notice that there might be an issue last Friday," he said.

It's not the first time the police chief been nabbed for driving too fast. Mr Atkinson said he received a ticket for a similar speeding offence in 2009 while holidaying in NSW. He said he was also caught speeding in 1998 when he was an assistant commissioner in far north Queensland based at Cairns. In 2004, he rear-ended another vehicle while driving a police car and was deemed to have been following the car too closely.

Mr Atkinson said the latest infringement was the only speeding ticket he had received in Queensland in the 11 years that he has been police commissioner.

On Monday, Traffic Hot Spots: You Drive the Change was launched, a campaign encouraging motorists to report bad driving and dangerous roads via The Courier-Mail’s website.

Speeding is listed as one of the Fatal Four, which contribute to the state's road toll.

In a statement posted online, Mr Atkinon said said he accepted responsibility for this infringement and had paid the fine.

"I was aware that the section of roadway was a 60kph zone but was not consciously or deliberately exceeding the speed limit," he said. He blamed a "lapse of concentration". "The detection was from a fixed speed camera. I was aware of its existence in that area.

I sincerely regret this occurrence and apologise to my colleagues and the community. I also acknowledge the support of the media to myself and the QPS in our combined efforts to reduce the road toll.

"The most important issue for me is that those efforts and that work continue unabated. "Despite this breach I am and remain genuinely committed to reducing the road toll and also hope to stay involved in that area after I retire from the QPS."

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