The true scale of the misery facing motorists was revealed last night with a record increase in the numbers trapped by traffic cameras.
Motoring groups demanded an urgent rethink after offenses soared by nearly half in a year. The fines raised hit more than £100million, while each ticket also carried a three-point endorsement, forcing up insurance premiums. The official figures, which also reveal a huge increase in parking fines, fuelled anger over Labour's stealth tax war on car owners. Camera evidence led to 1.9 million fines or prosecutions - an increase of 46 percent - 1.7 million of them for speeding and the remainder for other offences such as jumping red lights. Overall the number of speeding offenses, caught by cameras and other means, rose to 2.2 million in 2003, the Home Office figures show.
The number of motoring offenses, including parking tickets, was 13.2 million - an increase of 15 per cent on 2002.
Police expect the toll of drivers caught by speed cameras to be even higher - about 3 million - and the number of cameras continues to rocket.
Supporters of the cameras insist they boost road safety.
Yet in 2003, the number of road deaths rose to 3,508, up from 3,431 in 2002 and the highest level since 1997.
Tory Transport spokesman Tim Yeo said last night "The Government is still waging war on motorists".
"Speed Cameras are mostly not about saving lives. The public has now rumbled that these cameras are for the most part another stealth tax".
Mr Yeo says a Conservative Government would axe any speed cameras not there purely for road safety purposes.
Edmund King, executive Director of the RAC Foundation, said the "startling" number of camera-related speeding tickets suggested that the Government's road safety policy has failed.
He urged ministers to reverse the 11 per cent cut in Traffic Police in England and Wales since Tony Blair came to power in 1997.
Mr King said: "It is vital that we cut the number of deaths and casualties on our roads.
"The increasing focus on Speed Cameras and the decline in Traffic Police mean that offences such as drug-driving and careless driving could be going unchecked".
Paul Smith of Safe Speed, who campaigns against cameras, said: "The fact that the number of road deaths went up is a disaster for speed cameras . They are cash cows ".
Claims that the devices are installed to improve road safety and not just to milk unsuspecting motorists were cast into severe doubt last week when it was revealed that one set of cameras had raised £750,000 in fines in only 2 months.
The cameras, at roadworks on the A27 near Brighton, trapped 12,500 drivers - more than 200 a day. They are now being moved 10 miles up the same road to new roadworks.
Motorists are preparing for a mass go-slow on the M4 on Saturday in protest at the introduction of speed cameras there. Their action group, which has 500 pledges of support and is getting 200 hits an hour on it's website, accuses police of persecuting motorists while failing to tackle more serious crimes.
Yesterday's Homoe Office statistics revealed that the number of vehicles wheel-clamped by local councils in 2003 rose to 116,300 from 78,000 in 1999.
The numbers of tickets issued by council parking attendants rose to 7.1million, up 11 per cent on 2002, while police and traffic wardens issued a further 3.6million - a rise of 27 per cent.
The number of breath tests carried out by police fell by six per cent to 534,000 but the number of motorists who failed or refused the breathalyser rose by 3 per cent to 106,000, adding to fears that many dangerous drivers are escaping justice.
By John Ingham Transport EditorDaily Express
Your cart is empty.