A SECOND unmarked van with a hidden speed camera is to be used on Derbyshire's roads next week to catch motorists driving too fast.
The Star reported in May that a vehicle disguised as a battered workman's van had helped cut speeds on the county roads since it was first used at Easter, according to Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership.
Now the partnership is to start using a sec
ond van with a hidden camera. It has defended their use despite claims they breach Department of Transport and Association of Chief Police Officers guidelines, which refer to speed cameras being visible and well publicised.
Partnership manager Robert Hill said the rules allow 'discretion to use covert methods of speed enforcement.'
He denied the vans were a money-making scheme, claiming the fines go straight to central government.
"The vans are about encouraging motorists to drive safely all the time rather than slowing down for a camera."
They were targetting people speeding 'at the higher end, way above the limit.'
He said the vans are an attempt at getting motorcyclists to curb their speed. Bikers involved in most accidents on Derbyshire's roads.
Claire Armstrong, of national campaign group Safe Speed, said: "We are very concerned. This does not make road users safer - it makes them paranoid and makes them pay more attention to their speed, taking their attention from the roads."
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FeaturesMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport. The full article contains 284 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
