I WRITE regarding the tragic death on Bolton Road, Radcliffe, of teenager Natalie Jones, and agree with the understandable calls for speed cameras and other safety measures on this seemingly dangerous stretch of road. I would offer two observations:

First, the speed camera situation can be resolved easily, quickly and at little expense, with a bit of common sense and flexibility.

Contrary to recent publicity, there is not one camera in the borough but two, both placed contrary to the latest guidelines and totally in the wrong place.

As far as I can recall, there has only been one fatality on Peel Way, Bury, since the Woodfields Retail Park opened. That was on the pedestrian crossing, though I can't recall if speed was a factor.

In any case, tragic though it was, that does not make Peel Way an accident black spot!

The cameras, in any event, are in the wrong place as they are situated after the crossing and facing away from it on each carriageway - to catch motorists accelerating away from the lights. In other words, they are "revenue earning".

If they were there for road safety purposes, they would be behind the crossing and facing it in order to catch motorists approaching too quickly, and thus would encourage them to slow down.

The simple answer is to move both cameras to Bolton Road, Radcliffe. The road safety need would seem to be far greater in that location.

The second point is that I am not entirely convinced of the effectiveness of speed cameras anyway. Yes, they certainly catch motorists erring a few miles over the limit, and also the excessive speeders, all caught on film and with the usual consequences and fines.

The problem is that they are only doing part of the job. Stolen cars; unroadworthy vehicles; those without MOT, tax or insurance; drunk or drugged drivers, as well as dangerous drivers, may all escape punishment as the camera does not provide the necessary evidence. In many cases, the police cannot trace the drivers to prosecute them!

If I am correct, motorists caught on camera have their licence endorsed along with the fine but no other documents are checked to see if they are driving legally.

It seems to me that raking in the money from the sometimes "unlucky" few is given a far higher priority than catching the real culprits - those irresponsible and dangerous drivers among us.

ANTHONY MANN