The government is to review the siting of speed cameras on Britain's roads following allegations that the police and local councils are disguising them to maximise income.
The review is being conducted by the Home Office and the transport department amid fears of a motorists' backlash over road taxes, congestion charging and the potential impact of a massive increase in the number of cameras and a strengthening of their reliability.
New laws enable councils to retain the income from fines incurred after speeding caught by cameras. The law follows a pilot scheme by eight councils allowing them to retain the income from the cameras, a move that massively increased income and also reduced traffic accidents.
Because of the new laws, it is expected that the number of cameras will rise, from 4,500 to between 6,000 and 8,000. Last November the level of the fine rose from £40 to £60.
It has been predicted that the cameras will net as much as £250m a year, with about a million motorists being caught by the existing array of speed cameras. The new generation of cameras will be easier to disguise and so more discreet.
One speed camera on the M11 has raised £840,000 during one week - throughout the year, at that rate, it could earn £43m for the Essex police force.
The home secretary, David Blunkett, is concerned that speed cameras will come to be seen as a stealth tax, rather than a necessary road safety measure. He has urged the police to switch more resources away from traffic management and towards the fight against "mainstream" crime.
His proposals put him at odds with David Begg, chairman of the government's commission on integrated transport. Mr Begg recently wrote to the police urging them not to downgrade the pursuit of rogue motorists.
He told them: "Research shows that speed cameras have reduced accidents by 28% in accident black spots generally, and more at some individual sites. This is not only saving lives it is freeing up police, ambulance, fire brigade and hospital time for other essential services."
Recent polls conducted for the government by Mori show that the public is becoming increasingly disenchanted with the state of transport in Britain. The survey published by the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions last week, showed that only 39% of the respondents were prepared to pay higher taxes to get improved public transport.
In the same survey, 74% agreed that much investment in public transport was needed before measures to reduce car useage should be introduced, and 65% supported stronger public control of the railways. Priority bus lanes got the support of 53% of those surveyed. Only 30% of those supporting traffic congestion charges were willing to pay as much as £5 or more, the level which is being suggested by Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London.
The AA has already warned that rising demand for in-car speed detection devices reflected motorists' anger at the increasing number of tickets and penalty points handed out for speeding in places where there was little apparent risk of accidents. "The system has fallen into disrepute and a lot of people suspect that they are sited where police can gain an easy conviction rather than for road safety," said an AA representative. "The police should ensure all cameras are marked by signs which explain why they are there, such as a school ahead or children crossing."
Meanwhile, the government has been trying to outlaw satellite devices used by drivers to forewarn them of speed cameras. The detectors pick up the beam from live cameras. They were declared illegal but flaws in the law have made it difficult for police to act against their use.
