Length of British roads covered by average speed cameras has DOUBLED in just three years
More than 250 miles of roads in the UK are now regularly monitored by average speed cameras - up from 127 in 2013
THE length of Brit roads covered by average speed cameras has DOUBLED in just three years.
More than 250 miles of roads in the UK are now regularly monitored by average speed cameras - up from 127 in 2013.
At least 50 stretches of road, ranging from a quarter of a mile to 99 miles, are permanently managed by the cameras.
The total length of road watched by the cameras is 256 miles.
Many of these stretches of road are broken down into subsections and will be monitored by several sets of cameras.
The longest stretch runs on the A9 between Dunblane and Inverness for 99 miles.
Research, conducted for the RAC foundation, shows more than 130 miles has been installed since 2013 - with Scotland hit by the biggest influx of cameras.
Cameras now cover 18 miles of the A77 ffrom Ayrshire to Stranaer, as well as the 99 miles on the A9.
England's longest stretch runs on the A614 Old Rufford Road, near Ollerton in Nottinghamshire.
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The research does not include temporary average speed camera stretches, such as through motorway roadworks.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Average speed cameras are becoming a more common fixture on Britain’s roads.
"Unsurprisingly, the indications are that compliance with the speed limit through stretches of road managed by average speed cameras is high, but the acid test is whether accident and casualty rates have also fallen.
"That is what the next part of this research project should tell us.
"Rightly or wrongly many motorists perceive the current ‘spot’ speed cameras to be more about raising revenue for the Treasury than saving lives, but average speed cameras have greater potential to bring drivers on side.
"Clearly a high compliance rate means a very low penalty rate and hence both road safety and drivers wallets could benefit from greater use of these systems in appropriate places.”
Richard Owen, operations director at Road Safety Analysis, added: "One reason for the increase in usage has been the reduction in how much it costs to install permanent cameras – it’s now typically around£100,000 per mile, compared with around £1.5m per mile in the early 2000s.
"Some of the old fixed speed cameras have been around for 25 years and they are based on 35mm film.
They are coming to the end of their life and are starting to be replaced, in some cases with average speed camera systems."
Edmund King, AA president, said: “ Generally average speed cameras work fairly well in road works on motorways to slow traffic down when there are narrower lanes and people working.
“However, in some of the permanent locations where there is no obvious reason for their use they do lead to tailgating which in itself can be more dangerous than speeding. We do often find that the speed limits are ignored by some foreign registered vehicles which can also lead to dangerous bunching and road rage.
“To maintain their effectiveness average speed cameras should only be used on a limited basis where there is a clear and defined need for them. Otherwise drivers still see this as stealth cameras rather than safety cameras.”
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