Are motorists learning to love 'speed cameras'?

More motorists are accepting safety cameras as part of life on the road, according to an IAM Motoring Trust Survey.

Of 500 motorists questioned, 78 per cent approved of 'speed cameras' - up 9 per cent from 2007 (but still down on the near 90 per cent approval they received in 1999). However, there is still a strong suspicion that 'speed cameras' are not installed for pure safety reasons and doubt about the prime aim and outcome of 'speed cameras' remains strong:

* only 36 per cent (1 per cent more than 2007) believed that cameras were positioned only at serious crash sites, and

* only 39 per cent (3 per cent fewer than 2007) believed that raising revenue was not the motive for using 'speed' cameras.

Kevin Delaney, Head of Road Safety for the IAM Trust says, "This survey confirms a recent downward trend in numbers of drivers being caught by safety cameras*. Hopefully, it is because more believe that safety cameras save lives, but it could be to do with motorists becoming more aware of where cameras are sited. Either way, the trends are good news for road safety.

"Since April 2007, the money raised from speed cameras can fund a range of road safety schemes - including more safety cameras. Breaking the link between revenue and enforcement is a vital first step in regaining public confidence in the speed limit enforcement."

*The number of motorists who said they, or a member of their household, had been flashed and fined fell from 28 per cent in 2007 to 20 per cent in 2008 (18 per cent in 2002).