Cameras catch 17 speeders a day on M5

Around 17 drivers a day have been caught speeding on just seven miles of the M5 since the start of a £9.32 million roadworks scheme, it emerged today.

A total of £80,460 in fines has been raked in over the 79 days since the project launched in November, as 1,341 motorists broke the temporary 40mph limit.

Speed cameras have been set up between junction three, for Halesowen, and just beyond junction 4a, which links to the M42. They will be taken down when the 20-week project, to replace the central reservation barrier and lighting, ends on March 31.

One of the issues faced by drivers is the lack of warning signs ahead of the new 40mph zone – a factor the Association of British Drivers today labelled "equivalent to entrapment".

Spokesman Brian MacDowell urged the Highways Agency to review the signage. Highways Agency project sponsor Wayne Norris said safety cameras were used to minimise risk to road workers.

Speed cameras will also be in place during work to replace the drainage system on the motorway. The £2.1million project to replace drainage on the 1.7-mile carriageway from the M5 junction one for West Bromwich to the M6 junction eight for Wednesbury started on Monday. A 40mph speed limit will be enforced.