LONDON - The spread of speed cameras across Britain could be about to end after the government signalled changes to the way the cameras, which some motorists say do little to improve road safety, are funded. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said last Thursday that new camera schemes would no longer be funded from revenue raised from drivers fined by the cameras but instead would have to come from a central pot of cash set aside to improve road safety. At present a proportion of the money raised by the 6,000 cameras is used to buy new cameras and the surplus is returned to the government.

"I want cameras to be linked more closely to wider road safety," Darling said. "In some places cameras will still be the solution, and can be funded through this money. In other places there will be alternative solutions which this funding can cover." Darling also said there would be new requirements to improve the signposting of speed cameras.

The Department for Transport said research at 4,000 sites across the country found that road deaths fell by 42 percent at locations with a camera and that there was a 22 percent reduction in accidents causing injuries. However some motoring groups believe the cameras cause problems by distracting drivers' attention from the road by forcing them to constantly look at their speedometers.

The government has acknowledged that public confidence in speed cameras has waned and that many drivers view them simply as revenue generators. There have even been instances of individual cameras being vandalised. "If the Department for Transport still believed that speed cameras save lives, why don't they continue to blanket the country?" said Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign. "Clearly they have realised that speed cameras don't work, but they lack the courage to shut down the greedy camera partnerships." The Conservatives welcomed the announcement but said all proceeds from fines had to go towards road safety and not to the Treasury. "We welcome the Government's recognition that speed cameras have been used as a stealth tax on motorists," Shadow Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said. "We have long pointed out that speed cameras are not a silver bullet in ensuring road safety -- the massive proliferation in their number has been due to the fact that the Government actually makes money out of them." Reuters