Smile, you’ve just been Gatsoed

Speed cameras could come equipped with smiley logos to make you feel better about them if safety campaigners get their way. No, it isn’t April 1.

The illustrations, right, show exactly how they would like them to look.

” We want to show the whole range of emotions associated with speeding, ” said spokesman Louise Lyle, ” We’re starting the campaign with the smiley face, to show that speed cameras are happy – they prevent accidents, death and sadness. ”

Yes, we can see you grinning in your lids as the double-flash goes off in your mirrors.

The plan also includes straight, serious faces and an unhappy, tearful one – as apparently they will make speeders have an emotional response to the cameras causing them to slow down.

” The straight face shows how you might feel if you received a fine, ” explains Lyle, ” It’s a serious matter and the sign portrays that. The crying one speaks for himself, he shows the misery and sadness that could result from speeders crashing and causing accidents. ”

” The whole idea is to take away the bad feelings from speed cameras, to lighten them up a little. ”

Initially the signs will be used in poster campaigns along Warwickshire’s major trunk roads, but the county’s Casualty Reduction Partnership – which came up with the idea – has bigger plans.

” We’d like to eventually replace the standard camera signs with our signs. We haven’t yet got permission from the authorities involved – but we’re working on it. ”