AN EXTRA 50,000 fines will be issued to Merseyside drivers this year, after police and council officials decided to punish even minor infringements of speed limits. And now plans are being drawn up for more than 80,000 to be prosecuted next year to help fund new "speed awareness courses." Reports presented to councils as members of the Merseyside Road Safety Camera Partnership have revealed they expect to issue 70,000 fines by the end of this financial year. That is up from 18,332 last year - the first year of the camera partnership - when £1.1m was paid by Merseyside drivers. If they achieve the desired figure, £4.2m will be raised in fines. The cost of running the partnership is £1.67m this year, meaning the rest will be returned to the Treasury. The increase is expected as a result of introducing 22 "mobile sites" - visited regularly by staff with portable cameras - along with four new fixed sites. Cameras being upgraded to take digital, rather than film, images will also increase the chances of being caught. The report, seen by the Daily Post, also states that more minor breaches of speed limits by drivers are now being punished as a result of the "threshold" for prosecution being reduced. And, from the start of the next financial year, it is expected that the number of fines will rise further, to 80,000, to help accommodate the launch of a speed awareness course. The report suggests councils were keen on even more cameras being introduced, but the police and court services did not believe they could keep up with the increase in fines. A similar speed awareness course already operates in Lancashire, costing £90 for drivers who get caught doing less than 10% plus two miles per hour over the limit. Drivers caught going over that level receive fixed penalty notices for £60 and three points on their licence. | 
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