'Average speed' cameras, which monitor cars over a certain distance, may be introduced in Lancashire.

Accident blackspots on straight roads in the county could be covered by the cameras, according to highways bosses.

The proposals are part of an ongoing review of the way Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Police employ speed cameras in the region.

The Association of British Drivers (ABD) said a pair of cameras did cost £50,000, but County Coun Tim Ashton said prices have come down ‘considerably’.

Coun Ashton, highways chief at County Hall, says the cameras, which measure a car’s average speed on a particular stretch of road, may be erected on straight stretches where there are concerns over accident figures as a tool to cut serious and fatal incidents.

He is due to draw up a report on their implementation at the start of 2012.

He said: “On long stretches of road you have people speeding up and slowing down for the speed cameras which is not ideal because there are people who know the road and it is not very good for road safety.

“It works well on the motorway and there is no reason we can’t use it on long stretches of road.

“The whole philosophy is about reducing high accident figures – not making the most tickets and revenue.”

Coun Ashton has insisted that fixed and mobile sites used through new scheme Road-Watch will only be kept if they can be shown to improve road safety.

Roger Lawson from the Association of British Drivers said: “They are very expensive to install and operate and I think there are far simpler ways of improving accidents figures on most roads.

“Schemes have been abandoned in other areas because of cost.”