Speed cameras cost motorists £150 million every year

The rise in speed cameras over recent years is costing the nation’s motorists over £150 million each year in fines and increased motor insurance premiums. This is the staggering finding of ‘Speed cameras and speeding drivers’, a comprehensive report, published by swiftcover.com, the UK’s only 100% online motor insurer.

The report, prepared by Datamonitor, reveals that there are over 2.2 million speeding convictions handed out each year (which means one in ten of the nation’s motorists gets a conviction). Of these convictions — four out of five have a clean licence when they get caught. What is more the number of convictions has more than trebled (328%) in ten years — driven by the increase in cameras — from 519,000 in 1993. Over the same time frame, traffic increased by 17%.

The revenue generated from the fines exceeds £114 million each year. But, of course, it is not just the fine that hits the driver in the wallet or purse. The conviction leads to an endorsement on your driving licence and the threat of increased insurance premiums. swiftcover.com calculates the additional cost of insurance for those caught by speed cameras as £36 million — meaning speed cameras cost the nation’s drivers £150 million each year.

Andrew Blowers, Chief Executive at swiftcover.com commented: "The plague of speed cameras on the nation’s roads, hits the motorist hard in the pocket. Getting flashed by a camera is of course a double whammy for many as not only are they hit with the fine, but the conviction can lead to an increase in insurance premiums. However, as our experience shows that drivers with one conviction are just as safe as those with none, Swiftcover does not charge extra for those unfortunate enough to have been caught once."

The Rise of the Yo-Yo!

It is not just the cost to the motorist that the report reveals; it also identifies how speed cameras have led to more erratic driving. The erratic behaviour manifests itself in a new craze of ‘yo-yo’ driving with almost six out of ten (58%) of the nation’s motorists admitting to speeding up to above the speed limit after passing a camera and then slamming the brakes on when they see the next one.

The Nation’s drivers are fed up with cameras

The report also gives one of the clearest indications yet that the nation’s motorists are fed up with speed cameras, revealing:

The majority (69%) of the drivers caught by speed cameras thought they were driving safely for the conditions of the road at the time they were caught
Over half (54%) believe speed cameras make people drive more erratically
71% believe that speed cameras make motorists less aware of hazards on the road — putting them at risk of causing accidents whilst their attention is diverted
Two thirds (66%) of drivers think that speed cameras are mainly used to generate revenue — and only 6% think the current system, whereby money is used to help fund more cameras, is an appropriate use of the revenue

Blowers continues: "This widespread condemnation of the speed camera is to be expected when they seem to be springing up on every corner and one in ten motorists is stung with a conviction every year. With this in mind, it isn’t surprising that the vast majority of the nation’s motorists believe they are ineffective and are nothing but a distraction leading to erratic and potentially dangerous driving."