Hidden cameras to return

Speed cameras won’t all have to be high-visibility, despite government guidelines to that effect issued last month.

Anti-speed campaigners Transport 2000 and the Slower Speed Initiative challenged the Government’s visibility guidelines, taking the matter as far as the High Court, where a new compromise was hammered out.

” Safety Camera Partnerships ” , areas which are allowed to keep cash from speeding fines, will be able to apply to the Secretary of State for Transport for permission to deploy hidden cameras.

” An important new principle has been established. This sends drivers the message that just because you can’t see a camera, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one, ” said Vicky Cann, assistant director of Transport 2000.

This has led to horrified reactions from the Association of British Drivers. Spokesman Nigel Humphries said, ” It’s symptomatic of how unbelievable the whole policy is. One moment, publications like MCN and The Sun campaign to get cameras painted yellow, and the government agrees. But as soon as they are challenged by Transport 2000, they roll over for them, too.”

This may also lead to authorities actively camouflaging the cameras to make them even harder to spot.

For more details on this story, read MCN, March 26. Comment on this story on the News message board by clicking on the link on the right.