Safe Speed Forums

FINES amounting to millions of pounds were paid by motorists caught by speed cameras in Thames Valley last year the highest in England, new figures have revealed.

More than £6.6million in fines were paid out by disgruntled drivers in the region between January 2003 and December 2004.

A Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership (TVSRP) spokesman said that £5.3million of the money they received had been used for road safety measures such as maintenance of cameras and carrying out analysis on accident black spots.

The spokesman added: "You are not any more likely to be fined here. The figure seems high but we cover a large area. Most authorities only handle one county but we actually deal with three."

Last month our sister paper Midweek revealed that 14,000 drivers were caught in the Wycombe district between last August and July this year, with the estimated amount of money raised by the TVSRP from cameras in the area standing at £419,852.

The Bucks Free Press is currently campaigning for the TVSRP to release figures on the number of fines issued and amount of money made by the mobile speed camera site in Marlow Hill, High Wycombe.

Two letters have been sent to road safety bosses asking for the figures to be released under the Freedom of Information Act, but so far the TVSRP has remained tightlipped.

The TVSRP said: "A request for information relating to the number of tickets issued at sites would reveal that there are several sites that, for various reasons, have not detected any offences for a period of time. It would also identify sites that receive a relatively small amount of enforcement."

Our Bring Us Up To Speed campaign has the backing of Cllr Lesley Clarke, the leader of Wycombe District Council.

Cllr Clarke said: "I'd like to know how much that camera is earning. I have been using that road for a long time and I have never seen any accidents."

A further appeal has been lodged, and should this fail the Free Press will take the request to the Information Commissioner, the overseer of the Freedom of Information Act.

REMEMBER - SAFETY CAMERAS ARE WORKING IN THAMES VALLEY

Where the cameras have been working in Thames Valley, results from an independent report have shown that the number of people being killed or seriously injured has fallen by 43%.

Yep, they're working alright cough cough!!