Speed Camera Facts

The facts as published by The Guardian

• The first cameras appeared in 1992 following the Road Traffic Act 1991
• They were introduced on a mass scale in 1995
• The cost of a fixed camera is about £32,000
• Britain's first privately funded speed cameras went into operation in Flitwick, Beds, after villagers raised £18,000 in 1996
• 5,000 cameras led to an estimated 2m £60 fines and three penalty points in 2003 (automatic loss of licence after 12 points)
• Speed cameras raise £17m a year for the Treasury
• Thames Valley made a record-breaking £4.6m in fines generated by cameras in 2003. In second place was Northants, followed by Lincolnshire and Essex
• 85% of people believe speed cameras save lives