M4 SPEED CAMERAS CATCH 2,375 IN A MONTH
MORE than 2,000 motorists were caught by variable speed cameras on the M4 in Wales in December – including 44 drivers on Christmas Day.
Figures released under a Freedom of Information (FoI) Act request from Gwent Police show that 2,375 drivers were snapped by the cameras between junction 24 at Coldra and junction 28 at Tredegar Park in Newport during December 2017.
The cameras were first switched on there in September 2016.
The variable speed limit calculates the volume of traffic on the road and alters the speed limit accordingly.
The limit can drop to between 40mph and 60mph and aims to reduce congestion and accidents on the busy stretch of road.
Drivers caught speeding face a speed awareness course, a fine or a prosecution.
Data shows that 2,375 Notices of Intended Prosecution (NIPs) were handed out during December including 44 on Christmas Day.
No drivers were caught by the cameras on Christmas Eve, but four were caught on Boxing Day.
There were also 130 drivers caught out on New Year’s Eve.
The day during December with the most number of drivers caught was December 10, with 436 motorists caught. That was followed by December 13, with 346 motorists caught, and December 12, with 283 drivers.
On December 6 and Christmas – Eve, no motorists were caught by the variable cameras on that stretch of the motorway.
On average, nearly 13 motorists were caught every day in December.
But the figures for December are lower than the monthly average taken from the first year that the cameras were switched on, when almost 3,000 drivers a month were snapped by the cameras.
The total number of motorists caught during the first year the cameras were switched on was 35,348 motorists. The FoI figures also revealed that 394 motorists had paid the fixed penalty, consisting of a fixed penalty of £100 as well as three penalty points – raking in £39,400 in fixed penalty income.
There is a six-month statutory time limit for proceedings, but the figures are expected to rise.
The cameras are enforced by GoSafe, a multi-agency partnership comprising all highway authorities within Wales and the four Welsh police forces.