Proposals to increase average speed cameras

26 January

A report in the Daily Telegraph of 25 janaury 2010 reveals that the Sustainable Development Commission is calling on the Government to introduce average speed cameras to all motorways in order to ensure that motorists observe the 70 mph limit. The Commission predict that this would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 1.4 million tonnes per year.

The report states that according to the Commission, Department for Transport figures have shown that the 70mph speed limit is being ignored by 52 per cent of motorists. The average speed cameras, which measure a car’s speed over a prolonged distance, rather than at a fixed point, are seen as being more effective than conventional cameras because they prevent motorists jamming on the brakes as soon as they see a device and then accelerating as soon as they have passed.

Their introduction both on motorways and in urban areas, the Commission says, would encourage smoother more environmentally-friendly driving.

Ministers say that where average speed cameras have been introduced in place of fixed cameras, both accidents and the number of speeding fines have fallen.

For more information see the Daily Telegraph 25 January 2010