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There will be no new speed cameras deployed in the UK for several months pending a report into their effectiveness, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. The probe, being carried out by University College; is not expected to be completed until the end of the year. Applications for the implementation of new speed cameras are suspended under the findings of the report have been considered.
A spokeswoman for the DfT said: "Every year, those in the camera partnership scheme submit applications to us for new camera sites. This year we are waiting for this independent review to be completed before approving any new sites."
The review is being overseen by Stephen Ladyman, the new Road Safety Minister, who has been caught three times by speed cameras and at one stage had nine points on his licence, one offence away from a six-month ban.
More than two million drivers received speed camera fines last year, a tenfold increase in less than a decade.
In a letter sent to the partnerships this week, the department said that it had decided not to approve any more sites until it received the report on the performance of existing sites. It ordered partnerships to revise their budgets because they would receive less revenue than expected from fines.
Under the scheme introduced five years ago, partnerships are allowed to keep a proportion of camera fines to pay for more cameras.
Forces can deploy cameras wherever they choose for up to 15 per cent of the total time that they spend enforcing speed limits.
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, which supports speed cameras, admitted yesterday that some may not be justified. Rob Gifford, the council's director, said: "In some cases a partnership may have chosen to install a camera when an engineering solution may have been better. But we still believe the department should have the courage of its convictions. Cameras have been proven to work, and people may die if there is a delay in enforcing a site."
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