Jake Massey
New research has revealed the speed cameras in the UK that are most likely to catch you out.
There are currently more than 1,300 speed cameras in operation across the UK, and across a 12-month period, they captured 1.74 million speeding offences, worth £45.7 million in fines.
This is according to data supplied to Confused.com taken from 36 of the 46 UK police forces, who were asked how many prosecutions were filed against drivers who were caught speeding.
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Of the 1.74 million motorists that were caught, only 457,232 drivers (around one in four) were forced to pay the £100 fine and three penalty points on their licence — while 698,115 drivers opted to take a speed awareness course, which costs about £100 but means drivers can avoid getting points on their licence.
As for where motorists are most likely to get caught, there was one set of speed cameras with a much higher catch rate than the rest.
The cameras on the A40 in north-west London, leading into the capital, have caught almost 50,000 speeders in the last financial year — more than doubling the tally of the cameras in second place, located on the M25 in Surrey, between Junction 7 and 16.
You can see the top 10 most prolific speed cameras, the number of intended prosecutions, and the respective police constabularies here:
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. A40 between Long Dr and Wellands Gdns E/B - 49,050 - Metropolitan
. M25 Junction 7-16, Surrey - 23,134 - Surrey
. M4 Junction 20-19, Bristol- 18,317 - Avon & Somerset
. A5460 Narborough Road, Leicester, Jnc with Fullhurst Avenue - 16,634 - Leicestershire
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. M6 Junction 1-4 (Northbound and Southbound) - 15,410 - Warwickshire
. Garston Way/ Dock Road, Liverpool - 15,295 - Merseyside
. M5 Junction 4a-6, Birmingham - 15,062 - West Mercia
. A282 Dartford Tunnel Approach Road - 14,423 - Kent
. Lewes Road, Brighton, Jnc with Coldean Lane - 14,172 - Sussex
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. M6 Junction 7 & 8 N/B, Birmingham - 12,762 - West Midlands
While speed cameras irritate a lot of us, the president of the AA, Edmund King, said their use is widely accepted — provided they're deployed correctly.
He told The Telegraph: "Some eight of 10 drivers actually accept the use of speed cameras.
"There has been a twenty per cent reduction in traffic police over the last decade and hence it is inevitable that some police forces are dependent on the use of cameras.
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"With five people per day killed on our roads it is crucial that excessive speeding is controlled. So whilst camera and speed awareness courses have a role to play, we still need 'cops in cars' to target the drink and drug drivers and other forms of careless and dangerous driving."
He added: "We believe cameras are most effective when visible and targeted at crash hotspots rather than placed in places that might generate more tickets such as a motorway slip road."