Mobile speed cameras arrive

Law-breaking motorists face an unprecedented crackdown from today with the launch of a new fleet of mobile speed cameras in London.

Capable of picking out drivers more than half a mile away they will lead to a dramatic rise in the number of fines.

The cameras will be stationed between fixed-camera sites to combat "surfing" - when motorists slow down as they drive past but speed up again once they are out of range. Dozens of the new cameras will be deployed across the capital, with the first five going into action in the initial phase of the operation.

They will be housed in brightly-painted vans to counter criticism they are used for revenue-raising purposes - and not for road safety. Their locations will be advertised on the radio and internet and they will target accident blackspots in a bid to cut the numbers killed and injured.

Each camera will be operated by a single police officer in yellow and blue Vauxhall vans, which will be on-call 24 hours a day seven days a week. The cameras are seen by the London Safety Camera Partnership [LSCP] as a vital new weapon against drivers who think they can get away with speeding in areas where there are no fixed cameras, including near schools and in residential areas.

Today motoring organisations welcomed the new camera vans but said it was vital that police were "open and honest" about where they are deployed. "As long as they are not hidden and are used at accident blackspots we welcome them," said Rebecca Rees of the AA.

In April, the Standard revealed that London's system for catching speeding motorists was in chaos after cameras in some 30mph zones were set to flash drivers at 43mph - because police could not cope with the number of cases.

Today's launch at Deansfield Primary School, Rochester Way, Greenwich, is aimed at restoring public confidence in the LSCP's anti-speeding campaign and to let motorists know it means business.

Police are already moving towards Association of Chief Police Officer guidelines which state that cameras in 30 mph zones should be set to catch motorists who exceed 35 mph.

The Met is also boosting its capacity for processing speeding fines.

An LSCP spokesman said: "We hope that the knowledge that they may be caught will help change motorists' attitudes. This will reverse the perception some have that they can get away with speeding. We will provide details of the vans' locations to local radio stations for their travel bulletins and be publishing details on the website to help get the safety message across."

London has 650 speed and red-light camera sites and in 2001 - the latest year for which full figures are available - more than 73,000 motorists were caught by them. Since then the LSCP has identified 1,000 sites in London that it says need speed cameras. Last year 280 people died in road collisions in London and 5,370 were seriously injured.

LSCP members include Transport for London, the City of London Police and Met. These are the partnership's first mobile cameras. The Met did have a small number but they are seldom used.

Today new Deputy Mayor Jenny Jones said: "Too many children are killed or seriously hurt by speeding traffic. These mobile enforcement vans will play an important role in slowing drivers down, especially around schools and in community areas. The toll of death and serious injury on London's roads is the highest in the country (18 per cent of the UK total) and it is vital that we act to change driver behaviour and reduce the number of road crashes."