Speed Camera Myths

First off, I don't have a problem with speed cameras. It's the law, rules are rules etc. I don't even think they should be painted with luminous 'Look I'm a speed camera' paint either. I was never much of a speeder, having a daughter and watching her not look as she crosses the road has made me more aware of the danger of even an extra 5 mph so...

A piece in the excellent (IMHO) Prospect Magazine in April, made the point that many of the financial arguments against speed cameras are complete tosh, vis a vis -

"Urban myths are proliferating around speed cameras. One of the commonest is that they are a backhanded way for local authorities to take pressure off increases in council tax. In fact, the total raised by all cameras last year was just £73m. The surplus after costs was just £6m - and that went to the treasury. Even if councils had got their hands on it, it would have amounted to less than 0.3 per cent of receipts from council tax."

(Unfortunately you can only see the whole ariticle on the web if you are a subscriber. You can get the magazine in Borders in the UK, and if you are not a completely mental right -wing nutter it's worth a look)

There were also some figures showing that most of the money raised by cameras goes back in to maintaining them and adding more so,
unlike parking fines, the Council don't make anything out of them.