§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Gatsometer speed cameras are in use on trunk roads in England and Wales. [19619]
§ Mr. MacleanThe information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for speeding have resulted from the introduction of Gatsometer speed cameras; and how many have resulted in convictions. [19620]
§ Mr. MacleanInformation on the number of prosecutions for speeding offences detected by automatic cameras is published in the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Motoring Offences, England and Wales 1994", issue 23/95, Table B, copies of which can be found in the Library.
The information available to me suggests that some 94 per cent. of these prosecutions completed during 1994 led to a conviction.
§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the reliability of evidence gained by Gatsometer speed cameras. [19621]
§ Mr. MacleanAll radar speed meters, such as the Gatsometer, have to be type approved by the Secretary of State under the provisions of section 20 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, as amended, before they can be used for traffic law enforcement. To obtain type approval, such equipment must first be evaluated by the police service and it is then subjected to independent laboratory testing in which it has to meet published standards, including ones for accuracy and reliability, which have been set by the police scientific development branch. Police procedures also provide for other checks to be made on the reliability and accuracy of the equipment when it is in use.