£150m speed camera bill
SPEED cameras cost Britain's motorists £150million a year in fines and rocketing car insurance. The cash is raked in thanks to the rise in the number of Gatso systems which catch 2.2million people each year, up 328% in 10 years.
But the system is also blamed for leading to erratic driving or "yo-yoing", with drivers driving fast then braking hard when they spot a camera.
And the threat of penalty points on their licence means seven in 10 drivers admit they focus more on the verges looking for cameras than on the road ahead.
Figures out today report that one in 10 of Britain's motorists gets a speeding conviction each year, leading to fines of £114m and a £36m increase in insurance premiums.
The number of drivers with one speeding conviction is now so great many insurance firms do not charge extra for a single offence, but premiums soar for two fines or more.
Online insurance firm Swiftcover commissioned the survey of 2000 drivers. Chief executive Andrew Blowers, said: "The plague of speed cameras hits the motorist hard in the pocket. Getting flashed by a camera is a double whammy as not only are they hit with the fine, but the conviction can lead to an increase in insurance premiums."
The report also reveals 69% drivers caught by speed cameras thought they were driving safely for the conditions, while around the same number think cameras are mainly used to generate revenue for police forces.
Traffic has gone up 17% since 1993 when there were 519,000 speeding convictions.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5050770.html
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