Police pressure to hide cameras

Two top traffic officers have spoken out against high-visibility speed cameras. Inspector John Williams, from the Stockport constabulary, believes that brightly painted cameras are causing accidents with people braking suddenly for cameras and then speeding up again. He believes hidden cameras may solve this.

Meanwhile Thames Valley officer Inspector Malcolm Collis feels that the cameras are a ‘sop’ to the media, and a ‘vociferous minority’ of motorists. Collis said ” If we accept there is a very strong link between speed and the number of crashes and the severity of them, let’s stop pussy-footing around. ”

Speaking at a road safety conference, he claimed there could be as many as 10 million speeding offences a year, and the current figure of one million fines doesn’t even ‘scratch the dust’. Collis would rather see hidden cameras, with signs announcing cameras were present.

How do you feel about pressure to hide cameras? Do you feel high-visibility cameras save lives, or cause accidents? Post your thoughts on the News board by following the link on the right.