► 48% of speed cameras ‘inoperational’
► Some forces have all Gatsos turned off
► Figures released under FOI request
Nearly half of the UK’s speed cameras are inoperational, it has been revealed – and many police forces have turned off their cameras completely.
Figures obtained by the Press Association under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that 48% of roadside cameras don’t work.
It polled every police force in the UK; 36 constabularies replied, admitting that just 1486 of their 2838 cameras were active.
Britain’s worst speeders revealed
The UK counties where every speed camera is switched off
Police forces in Northamptonshire, Cleveland, Durham and North Yorkshire admitted that none of their fixed cameras were operational. The yellow Gatsos and other units remain in place to deter speeders, however.
And don’t take this news as licence to speed in some counties; the forces confirmed they had stopped using fixed cameras but had moved their attention to mobile speed traps.
Edmund King, president of the AA, told the BBC News: ‘Many of the empty yellow cases are due to cuts in road safety grants and the fact that digital cameras, although more effective, are very expensive. It has long been the case that cameras were moved between sites, depending on need. When it comes to the chances of being caught on camera, it is a postcode lottery. All cameras in City of London and Suffolk are working whereas only 5% are active in Staffordshire.’
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