by Ray Fauteux

Created on: December 03, 2008   Last Updated: February 20, 2009

There are an increasing number of UK motorists who are unhappy with the use of speed cameras on their motorways. There are a number or reasons why speed cameras are not sitting will with many motorist. There are those who feel the cameras can have deadly consequences and are nothing more than a cash grab by law enforcement.

There is mounting evidence that although speed cameras may cause traffic to slow in some areas, they also create a new set of problems in other areas that ultimately result in the cameras doing more harm than good.

The United Kingdom appears to be the speed camera capitol of Europe, yet the rate of highway deaths does not appear to be diminishing. The amount of cameras spying on motorists is increasing, but the amount of actual officers policing the highways is not. Many suspect this has caused drinking and driving to escalate and more accidents and deaths are a result. An impaired motorist who is driving at or below the posted speed limit is still impaired and still a danger to everyone on the highway, and there is no way a speed camera can distinguish a drunk driver from a sober one. It takes an actual officer to identify the impaired driver and take the appropriate action.

For many motorists the cameras can be a distraction. There is evidence that shows there are often accidents in the general area of a speed camera. Many people will hesitate and look at their speedometer out of fear they might be caught speeding. For an instant they may not be paying attention to the road and it can result in an accident. In one instance, a 69-year-old retired school teacher was killed while crossing the road when a driver was distracted by a speed camera. The driver claimed to have seen the camera, looked down to check his speed, and looked up to see the woman right in front of his car. By then it was too late. He struck the woman and she died a short time later in hospital.

For that reason many think the cameras should be hidden from view. However, the police feel the cameras should be seen so they can act as a deterrent.

Often there are drivers who will brake suddenly as soon as they see a camera and will cause an accident because of cars rear-ending them.

So are speed cameras really working in the U.K.?

Maybe one transportation spokesman had the best response.

"We are policing over 25 million motorists with cameras when what we really need out there is live police officers and not robots."

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