Thousands of drivers who break the speed limit by more than 10mph will escape statutory fines and points on their licences after police forces around the country endorsed new funding proposals for speed cameras.
Oxfordshire became the first county to reactivate decommissioned cameras yesterday using money generated under the new framework.
Thirty-seven out of 43 police forces have signed up to the scheme, which allows drivers who are caught speeding to take a speed awareness course. Money raised from higher course fees will finance cameras.
Thames Valley Police announced that 72 fixed cameras and 89 mobile sites in Oxfordshire had been turned back on using funds generated by course fees.
Police are now enforcing guidelines where drivers can speed at 10 per cent above the speed limit plus 9mph and still escape prosecution. The new threshold is 3mph higher than before.
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A driver caught speeding in a 30mph zone will therefore be given the option of taking a course if clocked at speeds of up to 42mph. In a 40mph zone, motorists will be able to drive at 53mph and still avoid penalty points. On motorways, drivers will be able to drive at 86mph and escape prosecution, subject to police discretion.
Fees for a speed awareness course have been raised to as much as £100 to finance the camera network. Drivers will be allowed to take only one course every three years. Persistent offenders and drivers caught at speeds above the threshold face automatic penalties.
Police in Manchester, Lincolnshire and Thames Valley are among those that have backed the plans. They are supported by road safety groups who had feared that deep cuts to the Government’s budget would lead to cameras being turned off across the country.
Oxfordshire took its cameras out of service last August after the county council cut its road safety grant by £600,000. Police say that the number of fatal accidents rose by 50 per cent.
Superintendent Rob Povey, head of roads policing for Thames Valley, said: “We know that speed enforcement does work as a deterrent to motorists.” Thames Valley Police said that 83 people were injured in 62 accidents at the site of the decommissioned cameras in the six months after they were turned off. That compared with 68 injuries in 60 accidents in the same period of the previous year.
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Motoring organisations welcomed the announcement. Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA, said: “We believe that cameras have to be kept running. This is one way of doing it. Most of the problem at the moment is money and we would think that we will see other police forces using money from courses to fund cameras.” The RAC Foundation said that cameras prevented 800 fatalities and serious injuries every year.