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Speed camera fines are "revenue generator"

29/04/08

Speed cameras have come under fire as Sussex safer roads partnership announced it earned more than £4 million from motorists during the 2006 to 2007 financial year, reports the Brighton Argus.

The partnership revealed that 68,000 vehicles were captured breaking the speed limit by fixed speed cameras.

In total there were 15,408 prosecutions against drivers, which could have a potential impact on car insurance premiums.

Speeding fines during the year came to a total of £4.11 million and around £3 million of this total has been collected so far.

Tim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, told the Argus: "These figures reflect the suspicion that in some cases speed cameras are being placed not so much as a road safety measure but more as a revenue generator."

Claire Armstrong, from the Safe Speed road safety campaign, said that drivers are "changing their culture by knowing where the cameras are and slowing down for them".

However, the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership has defended the practice and said that the figure "is good news" as it means drivers are paying attention to publicity and starting to slow down.

Emma Rogers, spokeswoman for the Partnership, said that speed cameras only covered three per cent of the county's roads and that each fatal crash "is estimated to cost the county £1.3 million in road closures, emergency services, hospital care and court costs".

Ms Rogers also claimed that the number of drivers caught by cameras has "remained constant over the past few years" despite the number of vehicles on the road increasing.

The number of speed cameras in England and Wales has reached 6,300, according to the Association of British Drivers.

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