Motorists in the UK think average speed cameras work better than single-location fixed cameras

New research suggests that average speed cameras encourage motorists to slow down more

According to new research conducted by the RAC, motorists in the UK think that average speed cameras are a much better way of encouraging drivers to stay within the speed limit, rather than fixed cameras located in specific areas on the side of the road.

The survey involved asking 2,172 people what they thought about speed cameras, with 79% saying that they thought average speed cameras were more effective in making drivers slow down over large stretches on the motorway.

Fewer than one in 10 believed that fixed cameras, which we’re more used to seeing on our roads, are as effective, whilst four in five thought they have only a slight effect at controlling the speed of motorists after they’d gone past where the fixed camera was located. Of those surveyed, 25% also believe that average speed cameras are much fairer, whilst only 7% of motorists thought fixed cameras were fair.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: “We know that some drivers can be very cynical about speed cameras, with a significant minority having told us they believe they are more about raising revenue than they are about road safety.”

What these latest findings reveal is that motorists seem to be accepting that speed cameras are used to help reduce the number of casualties on our roads and to help save lives, however over a third think they’re used for both road safety and to raise revenue.

Motorists seem to prefer average speed cameras because they encourage a smoother style of driving at more consistent speeds, whereas fixed cameras tend to infuriate drivers when another motorist slams on their brakes whilst driving past.

Over half of those polled believe they’re much fairer to motorists who might drift over the speed limit by accident and then recognise what they’ve done, slowing back down.
The RAC also claim average speed cameras are effective too, as road deaths have been halved since they were introduced on a stretch of the A9 in Scotland.

Mr Williams said: “This type of use of average speed cameras, together with the constant addition of more miles of smart motorways with strictly enforced variable speed limits, may be contributing to a shift in perception in favour of regulated speed enforcement over longer stretches of road.”

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