The truth about speed cameras - should we know?

Speed cameras - brilliant safety devices, or just money-makers? Photo / Steven McNicholl

Many of us eye speed cameras with derision and suspicion, wondering whether they're working to save Kiwi lives or just keeping the coffers full at the expense of already heavily-taxed road users.

British motorists are about to get the truth about the unpopular enforcement machines as the country's Transport Department releases statistics for more than 20 years of camera use.

They will show annual accident and injury data from speed camera sites and reveal which ones are purely revenue gatherers, showing how much was raised in fines each year.

British Roads Minister Mike Penning said many local councils had used cameras to control traffic rather than for their officially intended purpose of saving lives.

Some were sucking up motorists' money through being used in places where they produced no safety benefit.

"This will expose where cameras are and are not doing their job," Penning told the Independent.

"It is all about empowerment. We can only do what we do with road safety if people believe it isn't just about raising money but is about saving lives."

Do you think New Zealand government - local and national - should be more open about the effectiveness of road safety measures, including speed cameras?

Let us know if you want more official transparency by voting on the poll on the Driven homepage.