Camera survey highlights safety doubts

A new survey appears to cast doubt on the Government’s claims that speed cameras are situated only on accident blackspots.

It was carried out on by Autocar magazine and Morpheus, manufacturers of the Gatso-beating Geodesy device.

Using the Morpheus database of speed camera locations cross referenced with data from the AA on Britain’s most dangerous roads, the investigation reveals that there are just 18 cameras monitoring more than 500 miles of the country’s most hazardous roads, compared to 24 on the 50 safest.

And despite the fact that motorways are statistically the UK’s safest place to be on the move, add in the 49 overhead camera sites on the low-risk M25 and the total number of cameras on the safest roads becomes 73. More than four times as many as those used on the most dangerous roads.

Steve Fowler, editor of Autocar, said: ” Transport Minister John Spellar outlined new plans last December for cameras to be more visible and sited only at accident blackspots by those forces that are ploughing speeding fine cash back into enforcement.

” He stated that cameras are sited to save lives where there is a history of speed-related accidents and that they are not there as a means of raising money. This research does not support that statement. ”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said the department had ” some serious reservations ” about the validity of the figures.