The truth about police speed cameras
Mobile speed cameras are increasingly being used by the police to enforce speed limits, but just how accurate are they?
Our video clip below takes a look at these cameras to see if the police claims of accuracy are themselves accurate.
A recent report by the RAC shows that nearly two thirds of all drivers admit breaking the speed limit on 30mph roads, so it’s not surprising then that the amount of speeding tickets being issued are on the increase.
In the following video from the BBC Inside Out program, you will discover that some of the equipment used by the police may not be as reliable as they like to think it is.
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In the last year the number of mobile speed cameras hidden on motorcycles, police vans and cars has risen by more than a third. That means there are just under 3,500 mobile speed units in the country.
In 2003/4 speeding fines generated £112 million, of that £92 million was ploughed back into installing and operating the cameras.
A lot of this revenue is now created by the mobile cameras. It is predicted that by the end of the year they will be as nearly as many mobile speed cameras as there are fixed roadside cameras.
But are those mobile cameras as reliable as the police would like to think?
Date of broadcast February 2005.