Only about half of fixed speed cameras in Britain are actually switched on, according to Police figures released under a Freedom of Information request.
Sky News reports that data released by 36 out of a total 45 police forces, responding to a Freedom of Information request by the Press Association, show only 1,486 (52%) out of 2,838 cameras are actively catching speeding drivers.
It says four forces - Cleveland, Durham, North Yorkshire and Northamptonshire - have no fixed speed cameras in use at all. Staffordshire Police have 272 fixed cameras but just 14 of them are active, while the Derbyshire force operate 112 cameras with just 10 of them switched on. West Yorkshire, Kent, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire have a quarter or less active. City of London, the Metropolitan Police/Transport for London, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Northern Ireland said all their fixed cameras are in operation.
Road safety charity Brake told the channel the figures are concerning and called for all cameras to be switched on.
Its director of campaigns, Jason Wakeford, told Sky, "A staggering 1,800 people lost their lives on British roads last year and speeding is a factor in thousands of crashes. Speed cameras are a proven, cost-effective way of reducing deadly collisions and so it's critical they are operational."
At a meeting of the ITS (UK) enforcement interest group in October, the meeting heard how statistics suggest the mere presence of a speed camera - whether or not it is switched on - has a significant effect on road safety.
