Digital speed cameras are less expensive to run and can be employed 24/7. They are believed to be the principal reason for a recent rise in the number of speeding fines.
The number of drivers facing heavy fines for speeding has risen to a 4-year higher, new government statistics show.
And campaigners say a new wave of digital speed cameras, which can be switched on 24 hours a day, might be to blame.
Court fines highest considering that 2010
Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that in 2013-14, the number of motorists issued with court fines of £100 or much more for breaking the speed limit rose past 115,000.
This represented the highest level given that the coalition came to energy in 2010.
One particular of the most important elements behind this rise in the quantity of fines is the increasing use of digital speed cameras.
These are less expensive to run and administer as they do not need to have film loaded and collected.
As a result, they are far more most likely to be in use around the clock as opposed to film cameras which are only switched on at specific occasions.
Speed cameras ‘ineffective’;
Roger Lawson at the Alliance of British Drivers mentioned one of the primary causes of the rise in fines was “the switch from old fashioned Gatso-type devices with film cameras to digital cameras which by no means run out of film and where the processing can be automated”.
But Lawson added that there was small evidence to show that speed cameras decreased critical road accidents.
“In terms of price/benefit there are lots a lot more efficient ways to enhance road security than speed cameras,” he mentioned.
“Re-engineering roads is one particular potential solution: several speed cameras are situated exactly where a road could be enhanced by re-aligning it.”
More price-powerful options
This re-engineering could involve one thing as straightforward as installing a central pedestrian reservation.
Lawson mentioned: “This would encourage drivers to reduce their speed, and it is much less expensive than using cameras.”
Enforcing speeding fines, he added, incurred huge costs in issuing tickets, processing penalties and prosecuting instances by way of the courts.
But Paul Watters at the AA stated that the increased use of digital cameras did not necessarily imply motorists had been beneath surveillance about the clock.
‘Safety not revenue’;
“It does not usually adhere to that the police use digital cameras 24/7 as their back offices could not procedure masses of offenders just over the speed limit,” he explained.
“Moving from wet film to digital speed cameras does offer efficiencies, not least no longer requiring personnel to collect film.
“But authorities ought to nonetheless adopt enforcement based on collision and speed information information so efforts stay linked to attaining safety rewards not revenue.”
Watters added that far more than 3-quarters of AA members mentioned the use of speed cameras was acceptable.
‘Dangerous drivers ought to be priority’;
But the organisation maintained that less critical offenders – these who are caught driving only slightly above the speed limit – should continue to be provided speed-awareness courses in lieu of monetary penalties and points on their licences.
Watters mentioned the AA backed possessing camera thresholds set above the “bare minimum” – so, for instance, a camera in a 30mph zone would catch offenders driving at 36mph rather than 32mph.
“We certainly favour an method that first tackles the most harmful drivers travelling at higher speeds.”
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Digital speed cameras blamed for enhance in fines
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