Summary: Like it or loathe it, we’ve all become well accustomed to the speed camera. The most common type, which came to be known as the Gatso, was invented in 1958 by the Dutch rally driver Maurice Gatsonides for the purpose – ironically enough – of helping him speed up his cornering. Since 1992, when Britain’s first speed cameras were introduced in West London, these distinctive yellow boxes have become a feature on British roads. Their number ballooned under the Labour government, and some motoring organisations estimate that they have grown to 6,500, more than in any other European country. Britain’s 33 million motorists now run the risk of picking up a £60 penalty notice almost every time they drive. But now the Conservative-led coalition, anxious to implement austerity measures, think that by gunning for Gatsos, they have alighted on a popular way to cut spending. Mike Penning, the road safety minister, has announced plans to cut back drastically on central funding. “This is another example of this government delivering on its pledge to end the war on the motorist,” he boasts. The impending cuts have already led Oxfordshire County Council to announce that it will do away with its 72 fixed speed cameras, with Wiltshire and other counties likely to follow suit. Road safety groups have responded to the news with dismay. The debate over speed cameras seems to divide people between right and left. Libertarians and individualists believe that safe driving should be solely a matter of personal responsibility; speed cameras are symbols of the nanny state. For their supporters speed cameras represent the benevolent state in an unambiguous form. And then, at the base of the argument, there are the road safety statistics on fatalities and injuries, which both sides claim support their case
