Credibility in question

9:48am Friday 4th July 2008

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MANY drivers have had real scepticism about speed cameras from the day they were introduced on to our roads.

The fact that many appeared on downhill stretches of road and others were effectively hidden just around blind corners merely fuelled the cynicism.

Motorists saw cameras as instruments deliberately sited to trap motorists and raise the maximum possible amount of cash in fines rather than to encourage safer driving and deter them from breaking the speed limit.

With this level of suspicion from potential ‘victims’ it is vitally important that cameras are rigorously tested so that their readings can be accepted by all as a fair measure of actual speed. And that’s why today’s findings of the Independent Police Complaints Commission are so damaging to both the cause of road safety and the integrity of the speed camera system. It is surprising that Lancashire’s “top performing camera technician” should have been able to operate a mobile camera, having failed to correctly calibrate the device.

The 545 offences withdrawn and 1,500 points rescinded blow a big hole in the credibility of a system and motorists now need to be reassured that nothing similar can happen again.