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Great camera con on the M42
Sep 21 2006
By Ben Hurst
HIGHWAYS chiefs were today accused of "bullying" drivers with non-existent speed cameras on Britain's first stretch of road allowing use of the hard shoulder.
The Birmingham Mail has learned that no cameras are currently "live" on the M42 along the 11-mile stretch using Active Traffic Management.
Despite this there are scores of speed camera signs and camera boxes on overhead gantries.
The section south east of Birmingham, from junctions 3A to 7, has legally enforcable variable speed limits.
But the combination of these changing limits, and the threat of speed cameras, has led to safety fears of drivers spending too long checking their speedometer, rather than the traffic ahead.
Only this week the Highways Agency started to allow drivers to use the hard shoulder of this section at peak times.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: "The cameras there are not live and clearly the enforcement there is down to the police.
"This section has a very high speed compliance level of 95 per cent since the Active Traffic Management system was switched on.
"The enforcement of the speed limits are being handled by police patrols and we would warn drivers that any speeding is unacceptable.
"Even though there are speed camera signs, it does not mean there have to be any speed cameras there."
But Nigel Humphries, from the Association of British Drivers, said: "To be trying to bully people with speeding penalties without going to the trouble of installing cameras is a very under-hand thing to do.
"It is extremely dangerous, especially with the addition of the hard shoulder driving.
"The speed limit is constantly changing - people are looking at their speedos instead of the road."
