A record number of motorists were nabbed by speed cameras in 2012, resulting in about $250 million in fines for drivers.
2.8 million fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers captured on video, an average of almost 7,600 each day, or one every 11 seconds, according to new police data.
This is a 20% increase from the figure for 2020, when lockdown decreased traffic flow, and a 17% increase from the figure for 2019.
Separate research indicated that the most prolific speed camera in the United Kingdom, located on the A40 in West London, recorded 49,050 speeding vehicles in one year.
In 2021, a national record of 813,000 motorists were issued £100 fines, while 1.2 million drivers avoided a charge and penalty points by taking a speed awareness course, which cost them approximately £100 each.
A additional 268,000 motorists were taken directly to court because their speed was so excessive or because they had a history of traffic violations, where they were fined an average of £223.
The remaining 500,000 fines were voided, mostly because police were unable to locate the motorist or because legal documentation was incomplete.
It is believed that there are roughly 4,000 active speed camera locations in the United Kingdom.
According to the website Confused, the A40 camera between Acton and Perivale was the most prolific in the 2021/22 fiscal year.
It captured more than twice as many motorists as the next most active camera, located on the M25 in Surrey, which captured 23,134, and the M4 near Bristol, which captured 18,317.
Howard Cox, the founder of the campaign group FairFuelUK, stated: ‘Some of the world’s highest-taxed drivers are punished from all directions today, paying for ultra-low emission zones, congestion zones, low-traffic neighborhoods, high parking charges, and speeding fines, the majority of which are for drivers who only slightly exceed the speed limit.
“Speed cameras continue to be money-making machines.” I would go so far as to suggest that the police have been instructed to pursue the easy money, but I agree that significant speeding should be addressed with the full force of the law.
Money from speeding fines goes to the central government, but police departments make an estimated £35 per driver from speed awareness courses after deducting the cost of running them.
The AA’s director of roads policy, Jack Cousens, stated, “Most drivers accept the use of speed cameras and recognize that they are a valuable instrument for keeping roads safe.”
The driver might avoid speeding charges by controlling his or her right foot.
Local authorities are responsible for determining the placement of speed cameras, according to a government spokesperson, who added, “All available evidence indicates a correlation between excessive speed and the danger of collisions.”
»Britain’s speed cameras makes £250m as 7,600 drivers a day are fined«