Inactive speed cameras should be removed now

Inactive speed cameras should be removed from Britain’s roads before they cause a major accident, experts have warned.

Road safety experts from Road Angel recently undertook a Freedom of Information Act request which revealed that 46% of fixed speed cameras in England and Wales were inactive.

Now the campaigners are calling on police forces and local authorities to ensure all fixed cameras are active or to remove them altogether.

They say that inactive cameras serve no purpose other than to distract motorists and warn that they have the potential to cause a major accident.

Back in 2018 entrepreneur Shed Simove was banned from selling a dummy speed camera by police who warned him that he could face seven years in jail if one of his devices distracted a motorist and led to an accident.

Yet it seems the authorities now feel inactive speed cameras pose little threat following the recent FOI request revelation that almost half of all fixed cameras are not active.

Now the safety campaigners from Road Angel are calling on police forces to remove inactive cameras.

Road Angel founder Gary Digva said inactive cameras had the potential to confuse drivers and served no real purpose.

He said: “We believe if speed cameras are in place then they should be operating. Inactive speed cameras serve no purpose other than to confuse motorists and other road users and could even be dangerous.

“That’s why we decided to make a Freedom of Information Request to the Department of Transport to find out exactly how many fixed speed cameras are actually working out there on our roads.

“We were shocked when our FOI request revealed that almost half of fixed cameras weren’t actually working.

“At Road Angel we believe speed cameras serve a useful purpose in encouraging motorists to drive safely but our view is that cameras should be working.

“If a camera is inactive and remains so for many months or even years at a time then it begs the question, why is it there?

“Yes it may still play a part in encouraging traffic to slow down but it could also act to distract drivers and potentially cause an accident.

“Our view is that if cameras are present then drivers should be able to feel assured that they are working. If they are non operational then they should be removed.

“That is why we are calling on police forces and local authorities across the country to carry out an audit of cameras and remove any non operational devices as quickly as possible.”