It has now been admitted that nearly half of all speed cameras are switched off. Many cameras installed in the UK during the 1990s failed to meet the new guidelines of 2001 and were switched off. However, the empty boxes were left along the roads to deter motorists from speeding.

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that 323 Gatsos - named after their inventor Maurice Gatsonides - were inactive but remained in place. A spokesman for the Met said: “In 2007-08, 323 speed safety camera housings were not subject to enforcement deployment. They are there but there is no camera inside, or they are turned off. However inactive sites continue to play a role in deterring speeding.”

Motorist groups demand to have the inactive devices removed, citing them as a dangerous roadside distraction. The Government’s transport advisers, however, come with an even more drastic report, which says that cars should be fitted with speed-limiting devices.

[Source: Daily Mail]