http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... 545532.ece
Making a much faster buck
By GRAEME WILSON
Deputy Political Editor
THE number of speeding tickets slapped on motorists has nearly TREBLED in ten years.
And the cash raked in by the Government has more than QUADRUPLED.
Yet 3,172 people died on the roads last year - just seven per cent less than ten years ago.
New figures revealed yesterday caused fury among critics who say Gatsos are just another tax. In 1997, £28million was raised from 712,000 fixed penalty notices.
Latest figures show that £115million was raised from more than 1.9million tickets. A decade ago fines were £40 and cameras were rare.
Today the fine is £60 and the number of cameras has exploded to 6,000.
Furious Tory transport spokeswoman Theresa Villiers said last night: “These figures will lead many to wonder whether the Government is using fixed penalty notices just to raise revenue rather than make our roads safer.
“Enforcing the law should be the overriding motivation behind cameras and penalties. They should not be used just as a cash cow.
“The Government needs to rethink ways of improving road safety, including cracking down on uninsured drivers.”
In some areas the number of tickets has soared TEN-FOLD since 1997.
Fines in Nottinghamshire have shot up from 4,625 to 53,696.
Paul Smith of Safespeed, which campaigns against speed cameras, said the mountain of speeding tickets will enrage motorists.
He added: “Speed cameras have been a road-safety disaster.
“Despite millions of fines each year we have not even seen the road safety improvements that we expected.”
The Department for Transport rejected claims that speed cameras were cash cows.
A spokesman said: “Safety cameras are there to save lives, not make money.”
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