'Yellow vultures' to track drivers
A NEW type of camera is being used on roads in the area for the first time in the war against speeders.
Six average speed check cameras have been put up along the A27 between Havant and Emsworth where roadworks are being carried out.
The Speed Enforcement Camera System (SPECS) will monitor the average speeds of motorists driving between the cameras.
Anyone caught driving over the speed limit could end up with a 60 fine and three points on their licence.
Bosses behind the cameras, nicknamed 'yellow vultures', say they are crucial to protect the safety of people working on the A27 while a 5m scheme is carried out to revamp the dual carriageway between Hilsea and Warblington.
But critics say police should be on the roads instead of cameras springing up all over the place making money by fining motorists.
Hugh Bladon, founding member of lobby group the Association of British Drivers, said: 'We don't think speed cameras are the right way to go about road safety. On the whole they are just there to raise revenue. We would rather see police back on the roads.
'Everyone has lost respect for cameras because they know they are just a great big gravy train, and cameras don't deter people who are uninsured or who are drunk or on drugs.'
He said it was ridiculous that the cameras were not turned off even in the middle of the night and that people were forced to drive at a speed that was 'completely inappropriate' when there was no work going on.
Stuart Thompson, spokesman for the Highways Agency, said the cameras would go live later this month to coincide with a new phase of the roadworks starting on January 7.
He said they would be used temporarily until the roadworks were completed.
The speed limit will be reduced to 40mph and the cameras will be moved along the A27 as the roadworks progress.
'They are there where we are carrying out the works to ensure the safety of the road users and people carrying out the works,' he said.
'The average speed cameras are a lot safer and people generally slow down, which is obviously a big concern for us with regards to safety.'
Councillor Alex Bentley, traffic boss at Portsmouth City Council, said: 'We've just got to wait and see whether they affect whether people drive better or not.'
But he said he would rather see other methods used to stop motorists speeding instead of doling out fines.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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