Apparently, speeding was very good for the economy under the Labour government. New information has recently been released that shows that the government was earning as much as £10,000 every hour during the final years of Labour as a result of speeding tickets.
Cashing in on Speeding
More than 17 million motorists were hit with penalty fines, according to the first full research on speed cameras. The figures were published for 2005 through 2009 and show 8,282,905 fixed penalty notices that were issued in England and Wales. Each offense included a fine of £60, adding up to a total of £496,974,300 over a five year period.
Tory MP David Ruffley, who found the figures, said that,
“Labour treated the British motorist like a massive cashpoint machine on wheels. Half a billion pounds in five years is a colossal amount to milk from motorists for speeding. I have yet to meet anyone who thinks these sums have been invested to improve our road network.”
Labour Increasing Cameras
During Labour’s rule, they had a massive increase in speed cameras and they increased the amount of each fine from £40 to £60 in 2000. When Tony Blair was first elected in 1997, the motoring fines were at £28.5million, but in 2009 the figure was more than doubled at £68,161,320.
And, all of the money collected through the fines is taken by the Treasury.
RAC Report
The RAC Report on Motoring this year found that 74% of drivers feel that speed cameras are being used to raise money more than they are to improve road safety. As a spokesman said, “RAC calls on all local authorities to carry out an independent audit of their speed cameras to ensure those that make roads safer remain and those that do not are considered for removal. RAC also wants the Government to consider raising the speed limit to 80mph on appropriate stretches of motorway under the right conditions.”
While supporters of the cameras insist that they have saved lives, experts say, instead, that they cause motorists to drive erratically and not to concentrate on the road as a camera comes into sight. According to an ICM poll, more than 80% of drivers say that they stare at their speedometer instead of at the cars and the road when they see a camera in front of them.
