In the UK, there are currently 6,000 fixed speed camera locations. Because of stringent guidelines on placement, nearly all of the available camera sites already have one installed.

So the British government has decided to open the door to thousands more cameras by considering elimination of the rules that, for example, require a significant speeding and accident history before a camera can be installed. In other words, a photo radar unit can be placed in locations with no proven speeding problem.

Police already have the discretion to install temporary cameras in a problem area.

RULES OF THE ROAD

A site qualifies for fixed cameras only if all of the following apply:

• There have been at least four collisions involving death or serious injury per kilometre in the previous three years
• At least 20 per cent of drivers exceed speed limit
• At least 15 per cent of drivers exceed the Acpo enforcement threshold of 10 per cent plus 2mph above the limit (eg 68mph in a 60mph zone
• A road safety engineer has confirmed that no other cost-effective solution can be implemented
• For mobile cameras, all the above apply, except two collisions are needed per km