$500,000 speed trap

The country's busiest speed camera has pulled in around $500,000 in fines in the past six months.

The mobile camera operating on the Ellerslie-Panmure Highway, in Auckland, caught 5255 motorists exceeding the speed limit between October and March.

It led a table of the 20 busiest speed cameras in the country - most of which are in Auckland.

The next busiest is on Fitzgerald Ave in Christchurch, with 4039 tickets, followed by 3644 tickets for Auckland's Mt Wellington Highway.

The cameras would pull in about $4.6 million in fines, based on police figures. Most motorists (72.6 per cent) get $80 fines from speed cameras for exceeding the speed limit by 10km/h to 15km/h. Less tickets are given for breaching higher speed limits.

A list of Auckland blackspots produced by the LTSA does not appear to match the speed camera sites with the most serious accident areas.

Police maintain that speed cameras are critical in keeping the road toll down, citing a 23 per cent cut in fatal and serious crashes at urban speed camera sites.

Tony Ryall, National's law and order spokesman, said a review of speed camera placements should be carried out to ensure they were used on accident blackspots.

He said he shared a suspicion held by motorists that the cameras were used for revenue gathering, rather than as a road safety tool.

"We believe one of the reasons confidence in the police is shattered is the Government's revenue-gathering policies."

He said should the National Party find itself government this year it would hold a summit on road safety which examined the placement of speed cameras.

Act's Dr Muriel Newman echoed Mr Ryall's concerns about speed cameras being used in areas where speed was not a factor in accidents.

She said she believed the public was comfortable with speed cameras being used in blackspots where speeding was of concern.

Dr Newman also called for traffic duties to be handled by a separate public body to assure the public that police spent time catching criminals and not handing out tickets.

"There's the feeling now that the cops are obsessed because their political masters are obsessed with revenue gathering."

The number of tickets issued through speed cameras peaked in 2003 when about 494,600 were issued but that dropped to 464,000 last year, worth roughly $40.8 million in fines.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY