THERE’S a sting in the tale here and it’s all about speeding enforcement. A couple of weeks ago, a Sunday newspaper ran a story on how it had sent undercover reporters posing as prospective buyers of speed cameras to the Chief Executive of Tele-Traffic which supplies such equipment to almost every police force in the UK. It has been suggested that we are guinea pigs within a ‘scam’ to make ‘buckets of money’ for the Government. Tele-Traffic boss Jon Bond, who was until recently the police chief in charge of speed cameras in Warwickshire, urged the reporters to place an order. The company promised: 'There will be so much money coming in you won't know what to do with it'. Apparently the courts are ‘struggling to process the sheer volume of cheques sent to pay the fines’. How did this come about? The reporters posed as London agents for an Eastern European firm keen to establish a speed camera network in their own country. The results were staggering. The Tele-Traffic team apparently encouraged the reporters to site any cameras they bought where they could catch 'businessmen in the morning and school-run mums in the afternoon'. Britain's speed camera system is run by more than 40 regional road safety partnerships, made up of representatives from police, courts and councils. The partnerships are funded by the Department for Transport, which demands that each region gives target figures for the number of motorists they plan to catch speeding over the next year. If these targets are not met, then Whitehall cuts the size of its funding. This has the effect of making the local partnership set low targets, rather than risk losing cash by falling short of predictions. And that is good news for the Government, since the system is geared so that any extra fines go directly to the Treasury. It’s all about smoke and mirrors. As the motorist sees it the Government’s rules appear to encourage partnerships between police and councils by setting low targets and thus not persecuting vast numbers of motorists. In fact it’s quite the opposite. These low targets are set to ensure that they are regularly broken and more are caught. Cunningly, the government escapes the blame but reaps all the financial rewards. And it looks like their monetary gains are set to increase. The more successful the partnerships, the bigger the grants and the larger their individual empires will become. This is nothing to do with safety, it is all about raising more money for the Government from which we get what? Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign (safespeed.org.uk) is demanding an investigation and public inquiry into the findings. "I believe that the revelations are just the tip of the iceberg. It is a glimpse inside a secret society where the law and its enforcement are managed for profit." Finally, Association of British Drivers chairman Brian Gregory comments: "This report alleges that the serious concerns motorists have had were right all along. "This is nothing but greedy empire building using greed cameras. Safety and justice are out of the window, replaced by business plans. “Our country must see a return to proven road safety principles, and soon. Speed enforcement is now as socially acceptable as drink driving. Heads must roll." | 
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