Nearly half of speed cameras DON'T work amid 'postcode lottery'
Nearly half of speed cameras DON’T work: Drivers facing ‘postcode lottery’ on if they are caught as probe reveals 523 out of 1,092 cameras are broken and campaigners issue safety warning
- No speed cameras working in North Yorkshire, Durham and Northamptonshire
- Wiltshire also has no fixed or mobile cameras but uses handheld devices instead
- Data emerged from Freedom of Information Act request by the BBC’s Panorama
- There are fears issue is affecting safety by increasing complacency of motorists
Nearly half of Britain’s fixed speed cameras do not work – with four regions having no working cameras at all, an investigation found today.
Some 523 out of 1,092 permanent speed cameras in 26 police force areas are broken – with none working in North Yorkshire, Durham and Northamptonshire.
Wiltshire also has no fixed or mobile cameras but uses handheld devices, according to the data from a Freedom of Information Act request by the BBC’s Panorama.
The AA said there was a ‘postcode lottery’ for whether drivers will be caught amid fears that the situation was affecting safety by increasing motorists’ complacency.
The issue will be investigated in a Panorama documentary on BBC One at 7.30pm tonight called ‘Britain’s Killer Roads?’ which will look at the state of roads policing.
Nearly half of Britain’s fixed speed cameras do not work, an investigation found (file image)
Some areas started decommissioning speed cameras ten years ago to save operating costs when they became too expensive to replace after funding changed.
Drivers committing a speeding offence face a fine of £100 and three penalty points, but can instead attend a speed awareness course if they have a clean licence.
It comes as a failure to reduce road deaths over the past decade was linked to a cut in the number of dedicated traffic police officers.
There has been a 15 per cent fall in how many officers are tasked with enforcing road laws full-time since 2016, according to other figures obtained by the programme.
AA president Edmund King said the number of road deaths in Britain each year are ‘a scandal’
Meanwhile, the number of people killed on Britain’s roads each year was stable between 2010 and 2019, following three decades of decline.
Fatalities fell from 1,752 in 2019 to an estimated 1,460 in 2020, but that was attributed to coronavirus lockdowns.
AA president Edmund King said the deaths were ‘a scandal’ and ‘totally unnecessary’. He added: ‘We have safer vehicles. We should have safer roads and safer drivers.’
Mr King warned that some drivers will ‘take more chances’ if they think they will ‘get away with motoring offences’ because of a lack of enforcement.
There has been a 15 per cent fall in how many police officers are tasked with enforcing road laws full-time since 2016, according to figures obtained by BBC Panorama (stock image)
He said: ‘Cops in cars are essential. We have seen a correlation between plateauing road deaths and the decline in the number of dedicated road traffic officers.
‘We should reverse this decline as traffic police are needed in this national crisis with five people dying on our roads daily.
Figures from 34 forces who responded to Freedom of Information requests by Panorama show the total number of dedicated traffic officers they employed fell from 5,014 in 2016 to 4,257 currently.
Panorama – Britain’s Killer Roads? will be shown on BBC One at 7.30pm tonight
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