Ten cameras snare more than 10,000 speeders
More than 10,000 drivers in Staffordshire were caught speeding by just 10 roadside cameras over the last year.
More than 10,000 drivers in Staffordshire were caught speeding by just 10 roadside cameras over the last year.
Figures show almost 40 per cent of the county's 26,240 penalty notices were generated by the ten fixed cameras.
The camera most likely to snare motorists anywhere in Staffordshire is on the A51 Lichfield Road, in Stafford, which triggered 1,761 speeding notices, more than any other single camera.
Also in the top ten is a camera on A51 London Road, Colwich, Stafford, which issued 823 tickets.
A camera on the A4601 Wolverhampton Road, Cannock, issued 679.
Mobile cameras generated a further 21,049 notices across Staffordshire, including Stoke-on-Trent, over the same period.
It comes as the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership, responsible for the 263 fixed cameras in the county, faces cuts of £800,000 from its £2 million budget for 2011-2012.
Some cameras are to be decommissioned as the partnership, which includes Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, faces up to the cuts.
Staffordshire County Council has details of where and when the cameras will be decommissioned but has refused to disclose even the number of speed cameras it will be switching off.
Spokeswoman Michelle Hunt said revealing the number of cameras — even without mentioning their location — would not be "in the public interest".
The decommissioned cameras will remain at the roadside as 'dummies' to act as a deterrent.
If there is a serious injury caused by speeding at any of the dummy sites the camera will be switched back on.
Profits from active speed cameras are collected by central government and distributed to road safety partnerships across the country.
Most drivers caught by the cameras face a £60 fine and three penalty points.
* The speed camera that came eighth in the table, on the A51 at London Road Colwich, was demolished when a car went off the road at 7.30am yesterday.
A silver Vauxhall Frontera was involved. The woman driver was treated by paramedics and taken to Stafford Hospital. Her injuries were described as not serious.
Staffordshire's top 10 speed cameras - ranked by number of tickets issued:
1. A51 Lichfield Road, Weston, Stafford — 1,761
2. A52 King Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme — 1,461
3. A34 Newcastle Road, Talke — 1,039
4. A53 Cobridge Road, Etruria, Stoke — 1,019
5. A50 Kidsgrove Bank, Kidsgrove — 897
6. A520 Wetley Rocks, Stoke — 858
7. A34 Newcastle Road, Trent Vale — 844
8. A 51 London Road, Colwich, Stafford — 823
9. A523 Mill Street, Leek — 695
10. A4601 Wolverhampton Road, Cannock — 679
Speeding offences detected by static cameras: 26,240
Speeding offences detected by mobile cameras: 21,049
