Half of UK’s speed cameras are BROKEN as drivers face ‘postcode lottery’

THOUSANDS of Britain’s speed cameras are broken – with drivers running the risk of which ones they will get flashed by.

An investigation found that almost half of the devices are broken, with others having no working camera at all.

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The UK has 1,092 permanent speed cameras on the roads, covering 26 police force areas but 523 fail to function properly.

North Yorkshire, Durham and Northamptonshire have no working cameras at all, while Wiltshire Police rely entirely on handheld devices.

In some regions, cameras started being decommissioned ten years ago when funding arrangements were changed and they became too expensive to replace.

The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points, with some drivers offered a speed awareness course.

President of the AA Edmund King has said the number of broken cameras means that there is a “postcode lottery” for drivers.

Experts fear that the number of broken cameras is fuelling driver complacency after the number of deaths rose by 5 per cent in 2020, up from 1,750 people in 2019.

Me King said: “These deaths are totally unnecessary and should not be happening. We have safer vehicles; we should have safer roads and safer drivers.

“It is a scandal that five people per day die on our roads. This is totally unacceptable.

“We rightly hear much about tragic loss of life due to knife crime and yet almost eight times as many people are killed on the roads every single year than die from knife crime.

“We cannot continue in this way. There should be a national commitment from the prime minister to end this carnage.”

The AA is calling for more dedicated road traffic officers to be deployed on the roads to tackle dangerous driving and speeding.

Police officers dedicated to investigating incidents on the road fell by 22 between 2010 and 2014, with cost cutting resulted in another 18 per cent of officers being cut by 2019.

The Police Federation will be releasing a report in the coming months, and is expected to recommend that roads policing should be included in the Strategic Policing Requirement to make it a national priority.

This would require the Home Office, police forces and chief constables to be more accountable for the provision of roads policing.

DANGEROUS DRIVING

Recent research by the AA found that one in four drivers believe there is little or no chance of being stopped and punished for speeding or drink driving in their area.

More than 40 per cent believe there is no chance of being stopped for using a phone while driving.

New laws will come into force later this year banning virtually all use of mobile phones at the wheel.

Drivers will be barred from scrolling through playlists, taking photos or videos and playing games – even in stationary traffic.

Those breaking the law face a £200 fine and six points.

Mr King added: “Speed cameras are effective but are only one part of the armoury and do nothing to deter drink, drugged and other forms of dangerous driving. We need more cops in cars.”