I disagree. Cameras are ineffective against the law abiding as well. Those who hide their face, tow trailers, have trailer hitches that block the plate, identical twins, and a whole slew of drivers. Only a small percentage of drivers are eligible to be fined, and only a small portion of fines are paid.

Only the gullible pay. The cameras are a joke.

I would like to think of myself as one of the good guys, but like so many others, I was caught by a speed trap on the way to a holiday destination in this country. The speed camera was so well hidden that neither my wife or I saw the camera, and only found out that we had been caught when returning home after the hols. The trap had been set up on a stretch of dual carriageway in a rural location, and it turned out that unexpectedly the speed limit was 40 mph. I was apparently doing 48 mph in a steady stream of traffic, but after paying the fine, discovered that the American laser 2020 device used can be prone to significant errors and its use has been discontinued in a number of States. The whole experience just left me feeling very very angry, and brought home to me how cynical the government is in its approach to speeding. It's largely bad driving which causes accidents, and this usually happens within the speed limits

speed cameras are a joke as pointed out with most cars having a trailer hitches & plate push bikes is another and having a trailer with some pace of paper as a licence plate that's just some of them then you have the mud and oil.
Motorbikes have no plat on the front of them so I often see SOME going well past the speed limit as they pass me making me look like i am standing still when i am doing the speed limit.

The traffic law in this country is a joke looking at the local papers i see a 16 year old no licence tax mot insurance £140.00 plus court cost £60.00 and a 6 months ban, are you kidding me my insurance is £300.00 then there's road tax £120.00 no wonder there are so many car's on the road with nothing on them.

do what they do in the US cease there car/bike/rv if there is no tax mot insurance adopt the speeding fines they use (exp £50.00) for every 1 MPH over the speed limit and use them to found better equipment for the police. and if they don't pay suspend there driving licence.

Whilst not directly speed camera related, the following may go some way to reassure the honest motorists out there who feel (rightly) they are getting the rough end of the stick from the authorities through arbitrary, inappropriate and inconsistent speeding enforcement i.e. speed enforcement by automatic cameras.

Readers may have heard of Op Reclaim before but for those who have not it is a nation-wide scheme which the authorities can use to seize uninsured vehicles or vehicles being driven by unlicensed drivers. The seizure is on top of penalties imposed for the offence themselves.

Normally uninsured drivers will be issued a £200 FPN which comes with 6 penalty points whilst unlicensed drivers receive a £60 FPN and 3 penalty points. Those committing both offences can be issued both tickets at once but normally get just the 6 pointer.

The vehicle must then be reclaimed (and there is only one depot for the London area so some defaulters have a long journey to get there vehicle back) and must pay a reclaim fee of £150 (plus £20 per day storage). If the vehicle is not claimed after a week it is crushed or auctioned.

In the last 6 months approximately 3000 vehicles were seized PER MONTH under Operation reclaim in London alone. In my experience this is a small fraction of the the total number of unlicensed or uninsured vehicles in London but it's a start.
The vehicle must then be reclaimed (and there is only one depot for the London areac so some defaulters have a long journey to get there vehicle back) and must pay a reclaim fee of £150 (plus £20 per day storage). If the vehicle is not claimed after a week it is crushed or auctioned.

In the last 6 months approximately 4000 vehicles were seized under Operation reclaim in London alone. This is a small fraction of the the total number of unlicensed or uninsured vehicle in London but it's a start.

Goverment Fact: only 8% off accidents is speed related leaving 92% down to other factors. So where should they invest their money and time? on the 8% or the 92%?...those with a brain wold say 92% but no not this goverment because the other 92% takes money it does not generate money like the 8% does with speed cameras...now are you geting the drift my friends with these speed cameras? Its money, cash, wonga, the lolly nothing to do with deaths or injury its hard cash and if your so gullable to think its because they care about you I have a used tower of London to sell you.

Better to be red then dead.

Another Fact: A goverment study was done by the DOT using your taxes to fund it and the outcome was that not only are speed cameras not effective but was actually causing accidents...this report was never made public for obvious reasons (loss of earnings)...you can pay £60 to get this report otherwise you will never hear about it...for further information for your reasearch on the speedcam scam and this goverment study look on the safespeed.org website.

Better to be red then dead.

If someone's been done for being unlicensed, how can they be awarded penalty points? They don't have a license to put it on! And don't say "well, when they get a license the points will go on." :

1) they may never bother to get a license
2) they could change their name under deed poll and get a new license in that name
3) they may go by 2 names - such as for some cultures, you have your given name, and a familiar name that your friends/family call you - legally quite separate and both usable.

It may be looked on unfavorably, but unlicensed/uninsured should have a lot harsher penalties than are currently there - financial and if the convicted person can't pay the heavy fine, then jail time.