The number of speeding fines and prosecutions has risen sevenfold in the last decade, new figures show. The shocking statistic was the result of a Freedom of Information Request by Conservative MP Mark Field.
It was revealed that speed camera offences rose from 262,000 in 1996 to 1,865,000 in 2006. The number of speed cameras in England and Wales has almost tripled since 2,000, going from 2,000 to 5,500 in 2006.
In a film for Wednesday’s Daily Politics, Mr Field said cameras were ‘more about money raising than safety on roads’. He believes there has been an ‘obsessive use’ of Gatsos and an ‘overzealous penalising of drivers’.
He added: ‘The use of speed cameras transformed the disqualification system into one of Russian roulette.’
According to Mr Field the number of traffic officers on duty has fallen by 20%, while fines have soared. This means that serious issues such as catching drivers without insurance have not been addressed.
The AA president, Edmund King told the programme that a drop in traffic officers was a worrying trend.
‘A speed camera does not pick up the illegal foreign truck driver or boy racer with stolen plates but a traffic cop can,’ he said. 'We need to reverse this trend and increase traffic cops not only to make our roads safer but to make society safer.’