Less than quarter of speed cameras are switched on
LESS than a quarter of Greater Manchester’s fixed speed cameras are actually switched on, new figures indicate.
There are 177 of the cameras covering roads throughout Greater Manchester but only 43 of them, 24 per cent, are operational, according to figures supplied by Greater Manchester Police in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
In Cheshire – home to the notorious Cat and Fiddle road between Buxton and Macclesfield – even fewer cameras are actually catching speeding drivers. The county has 54 fixed speed cameras but just nine are active, equating to 17pc.
No exact locations have been revealed. Mobile speed cameras and other monitoring and recording devices – including the average speed cameras currently in place through the roadworks on the M60 and M62 motorways – aren’t covered by the figures. The Gatso speed camera – yellow boxes mounted on roadside poles – is the most commonly used type of fixed speed camera in the country, although there are others.
A leading road safety charity described the situation as ‘concerning’ and called for all cameras to be switched on permanently. The AA, meanwhile, blamed the high number of inactive cameras on budget pressures.
Only seven forces – including Lancashire – said all of their fixed speed cameras were fully operational. Data released to the Press Association under the Freedom of Information Act by 36 of the UK’s 45 police forces revealed four forces had no fixed speed cameras at all.
They also show that less than half of all cameras work in 13 forces. Nine police forces refused to disclose information or failed to respond. Of those that did, the data shows an average of 52pc of cameras as working at the time of request.
GMP said the force and its speed camera partnerships deployed regular mobile speed cameras and regularly reviewed which fixed cameras were turned on.
The other forces alongside GMP and Cheshire with a quarter or less of their cameras switched on are West Yorkshire, Kent and South Yorkshire.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council said the decision to use cameras was ‘an operational matter,’ adding that ‘forces have individual responsibility for their use of speed cameras.’
AA president Edmund King said road safety grants had been cut. He said: “Drivers who play Russian roulette with fixed-site speed cameras are playing a dangerous game. Our advice is stick to the limits rather than gambling on the yellow boxes.”
Jason Wakeford, director of campaigns for road safety charity Brake, said: “A staggering 1,800 people lost their lives on British roads last year and speeding is a factor in thousands of crashes. Speed cameras are a proven, cost-effective way of reducing deadly collisions and so it’s critical they are operational. We are concerned to see the figures.”
GMP has been approached for comment.