Pro-Gatso ads mislead

Claims used to support speed cameras have been ruled ‘misleading’ by the powerful Advertising Standards Authority.

The ASA received a complaint after the London Safety Camera Partnership published a newspaper insert which claimed: “Speeding causes over a quarter of all deaths on London’s roads.”

A complainant objected because he believed speed was a contributing factor rather than the single cause of a quarter of road deaths – according to the full report on the Authority’s website: Click here to read it

The ASA said: “None of the factors identified by the advertisers necessarily involved a vehicle exceeding the speed limit.

“Speed was merely a contributory factor in a quarter of fatal accidents. The Authority concluded that the claim was misleading and told the advertisers to amend the claim.”

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A second complaint focusing on claims that speed cameras had been responsible for a cut in traffic speed (rather than increases in traffic jams ) was not upheld.