Speed Cameras - They're No Dummies

Information gained by one of the leading broadsheet newspapers has been released this week with some startling results. The news paper has discovered through the freedom of information act that the amount of live speed cameras in the UK is on the increase.

A live camera is a camera that actually has film to record the misdemeanour, for every live camera there are a number of dummy cameras designed to make the public slow down and become aware of their speed.

In past years if you were unlucky enough to be snapped you had a chance of avoiding a fine and the penalty points due to the fact that only 1 in 8 cameras were live. These new statistics have shown that the number of live cameras in the UK has risen to make the average ratio of live to dummy cameras 1 in 5.

The new of the increase comes as a shock to the motoring community which see the increase as just another means by the government of increasing revenue. If you are caught speeding in the UK by a camera you can expect to receive a fixed fine and penalty points added to your licence.

Leading motoring organisations believe that the number of live cameras on the roads will increase significantly further in future years. This is due to technological advances that have seen the use of digital cameras that need no film becoming increasingly popular with traffic control organisations. This will lead to more motorists in the UK being issued with penalty points which will lead to a general increase in performance car insurance prices across the country.

The problem is that the amount of fines and penalty points issued to drivers each year is on the increase and so is the government's revenue. The ongoing argument is that the government seems to be spending more money on cameras each year and less on the physical policing of our roads. Surely the money would be better spent on police officers that can target all aspects of road crime such as drink driving and not only speeding. This could make our roads a safer place, the problem is that the government would see a sharp drop in revenue from cameras and it seems at this time they are not willing to suffer that loss.

In my opinion something has to give, cameras or the quality of policing on the roads. Unfortunately at the moment the cameras and the revenue they produce seem to be winning the battle. However if the UK's motoring community would just slow down a little maybe we could reduce the amount of fines and penalty points handed out each year that raises our car insurance. This would help all motorists in the long run and maybe by starving the government of this revenue we could affect the shift from cameras back to physical policing of the UK roads.