Average speed plan for West Midlands roads given cold shoulder

A total of 79 per cent of people who took part in an online poll said they didn't believe the plan was a good idea.

Out of 1,252 people who expressed a view, just 261 agreed with the proposal, which has been unveiled by West Midlands Police. The force wants to trial average speed cameras after it switched off the old roadside Gatsos due to soaring costs of processing outdated wet film.

A decision is still to be made concerning plans to spend £500,000 upgrading to digital cameras.

In the meantime a pilot scheme is being developed using average speed cameras, which measure speed over a distance between two points.

The new technology, used on motorways when there are roadworks and temporary speed limits, would stop people from avoiding a fine by slamming on the brakes as they approached a camera and then speeding up again.

It comes as latest figures show that despite doubling the number of mobile cameras driven around in vans, the number of people caught speeding has fallen by three quarters.

Reader Jiwal said: "Here we go again, pillage the motorist. How about putting some average coppers on our average streets to deter your average metal thief from nicking average manhole covers?"

jeffb said: "More ways of milking the cash cow," while paulp said: "These cameras are not a lot to do with road safety but more a money generating wheeze at the expense of the long suffering motorist."

However, read Rob De Wolf praised the idea. He said: "The only people against this are the ones who speed. Average speed cameras bring down the overall speed of a road, and surely that is a good thing."

And Wes said: "I don't see why so many people are against this idea. Average speed cameras are just that, take your speed over a distance. Great for slowing down a school street or an accident blackspot."