§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of the speed cameras on the motorway system are active over a 24 hour weekday period. [18844]
§ Mr. MichaelI have been asked to reply.
The information is not available centrally. The use made of speed cameras on motorways is an operational matter for each individual chief officer of police to decide, taking account of local priorities and resources. It is important to bear in mind that, even when the cameras are not taking photographs, their signs and presence are influencing driver behaviour. It is the driver's perceived risk of detection which makes him comply with the speed limit now. Prosecution may make him do so in future. The police do not want to detect and prosecute all speeding motorists. Their aim is to achieve driver compliance with speed limits with the minimum necessary prosecutions.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many prosecutions have taken place in West Yorkshire in 1997 as a result of information taken from speed cameras(a) on the motorway systems and (b) on trunk roads. [18843]
§ Mr. MichaelI have been asked to reply.
Information broken down by motorway systems and trunk roads is not collected centrally but I understand from the Chief Constable that provisional figures for West Yorkshire Police for 1997 so far indicate that some 9,400 offences have been detected by automatic cameras and dealt with either by fixed penalty or prosecution. Of these, I understand that some 5,300 arose from speed cameras on the motorway systems and 4,100 on trunk roads. Official, verified statistics for police action against speeding offenders detected by automatic cameras in England and Wales for 1997 will be published in the usual way next year.