Pressure is mounting for the Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling to resign following claims that speed cameras are cash collectors – and the road safety issue is secondary. The Department for Transport (DfT) recently said it was looking to ban radar detectors (speed camera spotters) and that radar detector users could be costing the government up to thirty million pounds a year in lost speeding fine revenue.
Detector manufacturers claim that a radar detector does exactly what a speed camera is supposed to do, that is, to remind a motorist to keep within the speed limits. An independent MORI poll found that radar detector users were 28 per cent less likely to be involved in an accident than a non-user.
Mark Cornwall, of mail order specialist Car Parts Direct, has taken on the fight with the government to prevent the banning of radar detectors. Car Parts Direct supplies the £199 Quintezz XT7000 Plus radar detector and offers a unique guarantee; if a motorist receives a speeding ticket while the unit is fitted, the supplier pays the £60 speeding fine.
Cornwall believes Alistair Darling’s main agenda is to raise cash from speed cameras and he is out to prove it. He said, "I was amazed when I heard the DfT were looking at making radar detectors illegal. A detector is a road safety device; a lifesaver that helps the motorist keep within the law, and ultimately saves the driver being banned. That’s good news for the motorists – and bad news for Alistair Darling and his merry team of greedy tax collectors."
Cornwall says he has contacted Alistair Darling and asked why he was looking to ban the devices with so much overwhelming evidence available to support road safety. To date, he has received no reply.
Cornwall is asking for Alistair Darling to resign and for someone who really cares about road safety and the motorist to replace him. Cornwall said, "I want to hear from motorists who have lost their driving licences, jobs and incomes and where their lives have been devastated at the hands of Alistair Darling and his cash generating speed cameras. I want these motorists to contact me and tell me their stories – and if I need to, I’ll take this evidence to the European Court of Human Rights to get justice for motorists."
"If speed cameras are here to stay, so are radar detectors," added Cornwall.
Cornwall is not short of support. The Car Parts Direct website has a link inviting victims of speed cameras to tell their story. Following a live BBC radio interview Cornwall says he has received hundreds of emails from the motoring public offering their support - including one phone call from a police chief voicing his anger at his officers being used as highway robbers.
Angry motorists who have become victims of speed cameras and have a story to tell can contact Mark Cornwall by visiting www.carparts-direct.co.uk
