22 November 2023 , 07:21
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The most prolific speed camera in England has snared nearly 100,000 drivers in just three years, statistics show.
Home Office figures have revealed how 98,944 motorists have been nabbed by the camera on the A40 in Uxbridge, west London, which monitors the 40mph limit. It could have raked in a total of £9.89million in 2020, 2021 and 2022, if each driver was fined £100 - though the exact punishment has not been disclosed in the Freedom of Information figures. Campaign groups say the data backs their argument that speed cameras are not fit for purpose and only serve to make money.
Second on the money-spinning list were cameras installed during roadworks on a stretch of the A1 at Grantham, Lincolnshire. They trapped more than 95,000 drivers, the Sun reports. The figures show another 90,000 were nabbed by the cameras on the M62 between Warrington and Manchester, while more than 85,000 were snared on the North Circular in Brent, northwest London. In total, the ten busiest speed cameras over the past three years could have cost drivers more than £65million, it is estimated.
Howard Cox, founder of Fair-FuelUK, said: "It is patently clear speed cameras do not stop speeding, they simply fleece drivers with most caught out doing just a fraction over the limit. Of course, dangerous speeding should be prosecuted, but if over 100,000 drivers at one camera site for example, have been penalised, it’s clear these limits have been set artificially low. They are designed to hit motorists in the pocket in order to fill the coffers of clueless financially inept authorities who have no sensible road user strategy."
But the AA recently told Mirror drivers should not be trying to avoid getting caught by speed cameras and debunked some beliefs motorists use to do so. Drivers cannot fool the speed calculations on an average speed camera network by changing lanes, the AA confirmed. A spokesperson said: "While older speed cameras could’ve been ‘tricked’, more advanced cameras now use multiple sets of cameras at each point to track all the lanes and compare average speeds."
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