Speed cameras being used by police and councils in ‘good hunting grounds’, watchdog report reveals

Police and local councils are using speed cameras in ‘good hunting grounds’ to fine drivers and make money rather than prevent accidents, a report by a watchdog has today revealed.

Figures show the number of speeding fines handed out has grown by more than 40 per cent between 2011 and 2018 – rising to over 2.1million.

But the report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) also shows the number of alcohol breathalyser tests slumped by a quarter between 2015 and 2018 – from 425,325 to 320,988.

That’s despite the number of deaths caused by drink drivers rising during that period.

Other enforcement measures also dropped, with the number of fines for not wearing a seatbelt falling 75 per cent from around 86,300 in 2013 to about 21,600 in 2018.

During the same period the proportion of car occupants killed in crashes who were found not to have been wearing a seatbelt went up from 20 per cent to 26 per cent.   

Figures show the number of speeding fines handed out has grown by more than 40 per cent between 2011 and 2018 – rising to over 2.1million. Pictured: Average speed cameras keep an eye on traffic on the M6 in Cheshire

Meanwhile the report warns drug drivers are being ‘tolerated’ on the roads with police officers told to limit the number of blood samples they submit to forensic labs, according to a report.

Inspectors found that one force was only able to process nine blood samples per month due to limited capacity at the lab and tight budgets.

A report on roads policing in seven forces in England and Wales said: ‘The inescapable conclusion is that offenders who are suspected of driving while under the influence of drugs are being tolerated and allowed to present a continuing threat to communities.

‘We don’t believe that this is acceptable.’ 

The number of fines given to drivers using their phone also dropped from around 162,400 in 2011 to 38,600 in 2017, although the number of phone-related crashes stayed level.

Meanwhile inspectors found that there were suspicions that the cameras were being used to generate revenue.

While police forces do not receive money from traffic fines, they are able to claim back administration costs.

Inspectors found that there were suspicions that the cameras were being used to generate revenue. While police forces do not receive money from traffic fines, they are able to claim back administration costs. Pictured: An officer using a hand-held speed gun (library image)

The report said that in one force ‘we were told that the reason enforcement took place at certain locations was that they were ‘good hunting grounds’, rather than because they had a history of collisions’.

The watchdog called for roads policing to be treated as seriously as efforts to counter terrorism and organised crime, in view of the number of deaths on the roads, the cost of closing major highways and the links with other areas of law enforcement.

Between 2016 and 2018, 4,872 people died and 69,580 were seriously injured as a result of road traffic collisions in England and Wales.

The number of road deaths declined steadily from 1979 to 2013, when figures levelled off. Between 2015 and 2018, an average of 1,610 people lost their lives each year.

The financial cost of all road accidents is estimated at £36 billion per year, and in 2011 the estimated cost of motorway closures was £1 billion, the report said. 

Annual spending on roads policing dropped by around 34 per cent, or £120 million, between 2012/13 and 2019/2020.

Staffing shortages meant one force had one roads officer responsible for an entire county on some shifts, while in another patrols stopped at 2am, the report found.

In total seven forces were inspected. Both the Metropolitan Police and West Midlands Police were praised as ‘notable exceptions’ for their work in roads policing.