For Gatsos, and against them

Cathy Keeler, Policy Manager, road safety campaign group Brake:

Speeding is endemic within British society. According to a national survey conducted by us, four out of 10 drivers break the speed limit in urban areas and over half break the limit outside these areas.

Experts agree that better compliance to speed limits would help cut the numbers of accidents. Speed cameras are one measure that’s proven to slow people down.

If we’re serious about safety, cameras make perfect sense. People who drive to the speed limits have

nothing to fear.

But we accept there is a real need for police officers. The number of traffic officers has decreased over the last year, which is very worrying.

Gatsos shouldn’t be painted, though. If there’s money going spare, it should be spent on signs saying where they are.

Mark McArthur-Christie, Asssociation Of British Drivers:

Standards of driving are falling as the numbers of cameras are rising. The number of traffic officers on the streets is declining, and the once-respected class-one training for traffic police has been subject to terrible budget cuts. And people tell me Gatsos are the answer?

Road safety isn’t about numbers. Why is 30mph better than 35? What we need is better training for everybody who uses the highways. People talk of four out of 10 drivers speeding, I’d say that’s a conservative estimate and that many more than that actually break the law. And when you’ve got that many people breaking laws, it’s time to look at the law itself.

We need better, on-going, incentivised training – and we shouldn’t be paying VAT on lessons that could save lives.