News Story 9 News Headlines.
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This Article was written by Matthew Hickley: [Home Affairs Correspondent:] it was publish in Britain on 1st. January, 2004... by 'The Daily Mail'. 
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Four out of five speed cameras could be taken down because they are not located at accident blackspots, it emerged yesterday.  Campaigners claim that as few as a thousand of the 5,000 existing roadside cameras meet official guidelines.  Rules laid down by the Department of Transport in 2000 state that they are supposed to cover locations with safety and speeding problems.  But most are on relatively safe roads, raking in millions of pounds for the Treasury while having little impact on accident rates.
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Faced with growing anger over cameras, ministers have this week ordered all local authorities to review their sites.  They have said that cameras which are merely raising cash must be scrapped.  Campaigners say that should mean thousands being axed.  A wholesale reduction would delight many motorists.  Two million were hit with £60 fines and three penalty points last year after being caught by cameras, raising £17million for the Treasury, after costs.
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The figures on 'misplaced' cameras emerged as a Daily Mail survey found that most blackspots were not actually covered by the devices.  Only 16 were found at 53 of the worst sites in five areas of Britain.  The findings reinforce claims that many are being used as revenue-raisers by local Safety Camera Partnerships, which are made up of local authorities and police forces.
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Despite formulating the location guidelines for the 43 partnerships, the Transport Department admits it has no proper records of where cameras are or how they relate to blackspots, because sites are chosen by the partnerships.  Tory transport spokesman Damian Green has called for a full audit of every camera, and has demanded that penalty points should not be given to drivers caught at sites with no serious safety problems.
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'The Mail's survey backs up other findings, that relatively few of the most dangerous roads appear to have cameras,' he said yesterday.  'The evidence is mounting.  I suspect that as few as a thousand camera sites could be tackling genuine blackspots.'  Brian Gregory, chairman of the Association of British Drivers, claimed the proportion could be as few as one in ten.  He claimed that the Government definition of a blackspots - four deaths or serious injuries per kilometre in the past three years - was often met by playing with statistics.  
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'Speed not a factor'

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'Huge numbers of roads which have heavy traffic could meet those criteria, and speed doesn't even have to be a factor in the accidents,' he said.  'Two often, cameras are the first choice safety measure.  And once they're installed they get all the credit for reducing accidents, even if other measures have been taken, such as improved junctions or lighting.'  National Safety Cameras, the organisation for the partnership, dismissed claims that cameras were wrongly sited.  'The partnerships are targeting cameras at the worst locations,' said a spokesman.
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'Since 2000, when the existing rules came in, every location has been approved by the Department of Transport.'  She added: 'There may be rare examples where other road improvements have been made since cameras were installed, but for the most part it would be a very brave local authority that decided to remove a camera.'  The Daily Mail survey looked at blackspots in Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Leeds, Kent and Birmingham.  The sites were identified by local authorities.
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Another survey last summer found there were 33 percent more cameras on Britain's 50 safest stretches of road than there were on the 50 most dangerous.  The study was carried out by Autocar magazine, using AA road safety data.  
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Richard Brunstrom, chief constable of North Wales and head of road policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers, wants to see the number of speeding tickets handed out rise to three million this year.  He recently told MPs that the guidelines meant to restrict camera locations to blackspots should be scrapped.  He also said that the leeway between speed limits and camera trigger speeds - currently ten percent of the speed limit plus 2mph - should be cut.
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