REVEALED: The Black Country roads targeted in mobile police speed camera crackdown
Thousands of motorists have been caught by police using mobile speed cameras in the past 12 months - many used near deactivated static sites.
West Midlands Police issued fines across the Black Country in a bid to curb speeding motorists.
Express & Star comment: Speed cameras must not be cash cow
The fines have been welcomed by many councillors who say they are helping to save lives.
Meanwhile others have questioned whether motorists are being unfairly snared and instead called for confusing signs and speed limits to be altered.
Where were the most fines issued in Wolverhampton?
Mobile speed cameras in Wolverhampton caught more than 1,000 motorists.
Marked enforcement vans caught speeding drivers at 14 locations across the city.
In total, 1,435 tickets were issued.
Most tickets were issued from a camera on the B4161 Henwood Road in Compton, between Compton Road and Tettenhall Road.
On the northbound carriageway 331 drivers were caught in the 30mph zone and 138 on the southbound.
The route is within the ward of Wolverhampton council’s Conservative group leader Wendy Thompson.
She said: “It is a road where there have been fatalities and residents in the side roads have expressed concerns about speeding motorists.
"The speed limit is there for a reason and where people have raised concerns, it needs to be enforced.”
Second on the list of roads where motorists were seen speeding was The Droveway in Pendeford, between Barnhurst Lane and Wobaston Road, with 368 drivers caught.
On Tettenhall Road, near West Park, 94 drivers were caught, and on Willenhall Road in Bilston, between Moseley Road and Bunkers Hill Lane, 88.
Where were the most fines issued in Dudley borough?
Mobile speed cameras snared almost 1,500 motorists in Dudley in the last year.
Marked enforcement vans caught speeding drivers at 14 locations. In total, 1,486 tickets were issued to motorists in 2017.
Most tickets were issued on the A4123 Birmingham New Road, between the Burnt Tree and Tipton Road, where 245 motorists were caught on the northbound and 25 on the southbound.
The stretch of road is in the ward of Castle and Priory. Councillor Ken Finch said: “I support the use of anything that could save lives on our roads.
"Unfortunately in my ward we are burdened with the Birmingham New Road and Priory Road, both are used as a race track by some drivers. I hope the cameras catching people will slow them down.”
On Oakham Road in Kates Hill, Dudley, 163 motorists were caught, and on the A449 Kidderminster Road in Kingswinford, 157 drivers were snared.
This was followed by 147 on St Peter’s Road in Netherton, 143 on the B4043 Manor Lane in Halesowen and 137 on the A458 Halesowen Road, also in Halesowen, near Narrow Lane.
In Saltwells Road in Netherton, 133 drivers were caught, in Milking Bank, Dudley, 91, the A461 Stourbridge Road in Brierley Hill, near Terrace Street, 65, and on Spies Lane in Halesowen, between Kent Road and Ridgeway Avenue, 63.
On the A457 Tipton Road in Sedgley, between Gate Street and Park Road, 52 were caught, on the A456 Manor Way in Halesowen between Grange Road Island and Sandvik Engineering, 42 were snared and in Bourne Street in Dudley, 23.
Where were the most fines issued across Sandwell?
Mobile speed cameras snapped more than 2,500 motorists across Sandwell in the last year – including 1,981 next to deactivated static cameras.
The marked enforcement vans caught speeding drivers at 15 locations.
In total, 2,572 tickets were issued in 2017.
Most tickets were issued from five locations along the A41 Black Country New Road.
Mobile cameras located near to static cameras next to Swan Island and the roundabout junction for A4196 Old Meeting Lane caught 96 and 75 motorists respectively.
Cameras at three other former static locations along the route caught 1,549 drivers.
Councillor Peter Hughes said: “There needs to be a review of the speed limits along the dual carriageway as it is confusing with the changing limits.
“I agree with speed cameras in certain instances, they need to be on motorways, but in terms of dual carriageways it has to be aligned with something else such as signage and consistency of limits.
“It feels along the Black Country New Road the cameras are being used as a trap.”
Also high up on the list of roads where the most motorists were seen speeding was the A4031 Trinity Way in West Bromwich, between The Expressway and Kendrick Way, where 320 drivers were caught.
On the A462 Darlaston Road in Wednesbury, 178 drivers were caught and on the A41 Birmingham Road, next to The Hawthorns, 142 were snared.
Twenty-four motorists were caught on the A457 Soho Way in Smethwick and seven on Cranford Street in Smethwick and the A461 Dudley Port in Horsley Heath, Tipton.
Where were the most fines issued in Walsall borough?
More than 500 motorists were caught across Walsall in the last year.
Marked enforcement vans caught speeding drivers at six locations across the borough.
In total, 550 tickets were issued to motorists, who receive a minimum fine of £100 and three penalty points.
Most were snapped by a mobile camera on the B4138 Thornhill Road between the junctions for Streetly Lane and Chester Road.
On the northbound 104 drivers were caught, while 66 were snapped on the southbound.
Second on the list of roads was A4098 Great Bridge Road in Darlaston, between the Midland Metro railway bridge and the A41, where 89 drivers were caught northbound, and 63 southbound.
Darlaston South councillor Doug James said the road had long been a hotspot for speeding.
He said: “We have been blighted by speeding motorists in the Darlaston area and have been calling for more enforcement.
“I’m delighted with these figures because they show the police are doing something in response to our calls.”
On the A4041 Queslett Road in Pheasey, near to Halleswell Grove and next to a disused static camera, 102 drivers were caught.
On Stubbers Green Road in Aldridge, between Brook Meadow Road and Wharf Approach, 58 motorists were caught, while on the Walsall Wood Road, also in Aldridge, between Lazy Hill Road and Little Aston Road, 62 were snared.
And at another former static camera location, on the A461 Lichfield Road in Walsall Wood, near Brooklands Road, six were snapped.
Why are certain roads targeted for speed crackdowns?
West Midlands Police uses 160 mobile camera sites, but talks are under way over bringing in average speed cameras in the Black Country following a successful trial in Solihull and Birmingham.
The figures, from a Freedom of Information request, revealed mobile cameras are being positioned at the sites of turned-off static cameras.
Claire Waring, from the force’s Camera Enforcement Unit, said: “There are more than 150 locations where the cameras are used. The locations where mobile speed cameras are deployed are based on the sites where people have been killed or seriously injured due to a road traffic collision.
“We also enforce at locations where speeds are excessive but no serious injuries have been recorded.”
Drivers receive a minimum fine of £100 and three penalty points if caught speeding.
