Safe Speed Forums

How cowboy drivers beat speed cameras

COWBOY drivers are dodging speed camera fines because they cannot be traced, it was revealed last night. Yet motorists who register their vehicles honestly are caught.

More than half the number of motorists caught on camera in London, and up to four in 10 nationwide, escape speeding fines and points on their licence by not registering their vehicle, or registering it to a false address.

The shocking data from the Safety Camera Partnership was obtained by the London Green Party which wants more old style traffic policing.

The government has presided over the introduction of about 7,000 speed cameras which caught nearly two million motorists last year, raising £120 million in fines. This coincides with an 11 per cent cut nationwide in the number of traffic police.

The Green Party says that in London there are just 674 police officers on dedicated traffic duty – half the number there were in the 1990s. Jenny Jones, Green Party London Assembly Member and the Mayor’s road safety ambassador said: “Electronic enforcement is just not the answer. We have this sub-class of drivers who are speeding and getting away with it.”

The Metropolitan Police said the number of “false nominations” had increased but so too had number of prosecutions for perverting the course of justice. In some cases, drivers are also prosecuted for forgery.

We have this sub-class of drivers who are speeding and getting away with it.”

And that's what it boils down to. It's not about getting dangerous, or uninsured, or illegal drivers off the streets. It's just to make sure that nobody is evading their money boxes.