'Give us our fines cash so we can improve West Midlands road safety' say chiefs
Senior figures are calling for a West Midlands-led trial for road penalty fines to be spent on tackling road safety in the region instead of going to the Treasury.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster and councillors across the region have joined forces and written to the Government to request an opportunity to spend fines collected locally into preventing and tackling careless, dangerous and reckless driving and reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads.
Under the current system millions of pounds from road safety-related fixed penalty fines go straight to the Treasury instead of to the area where the crime is committed.
Mr Foster said: "Preventing and tackling careless, dangerous and reckless driving and reducing the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads is a top priority.
“The current system is broken and unsustainable. That is why the [West Midlands] Mayor and I, together with 33 other leaders across policing, government and road safety partnerships, are calling on the Government to allow local areas to use road safety related fixed penalty fine revenue, to be reinvested back into making our roads safer.
“Offenders – not law-abiding drivers and taxpayers – should bear the cost of enforcement. This is about saving lives, preventing and tackling crime, careless, dangerous and reckless driving and building safer communities for everyone.”
He said that police forces, councils and road safety partnerships were being left to shoulder the cost of running and enforcing speed camera schemes sometimes at a financial loss despite evidence that they prevent collisions, reduce the number of people being killed and seriously injured and result in community safety benefits.
West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, who is also backing the commissioner's proposal, added: “Too many lives are lost or ruined on our roads which is why improving road safety is a priority for me. The money collected from speeding and other motoring fines should be reinvested right here in the West Midlands to save lives.
"Let’s keep those funds local and put them toward making our roads safer and creating a transport system that works better for everyone.”
The joint letter has also been signed by the combined authorities, council leaders and road safety organisations.
Between January and July 2025 there were 471 people killed or seriously injured on the region's roads - an 18 per cent drop from the same period in 2024 when there were 575.
In 2016 former Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, a former road safety minister, called for cash from fines given to drivers caught using mobile phones at the wheel to be put towards road safety measures. He first introduced fines for the offence.
