The speed camera is set to make a comeback, a report from the Daily Telegraph has found.
And what's more, they'll be even more adept at nabbing you for speeding than ever before.
The old GATSOs were, and are, film cameras. This means that every so often, Plod has to get off his arse, change the film and get the photos developed. This costs money and if there's one thing the safety partnerships don't have at the moment, it's cold hard cash.
Luckily for them (and unluckily for everyone else) a new type of digital speed camera has been created which beams the images it takes automatically to Plod's computer. He can then issue you with a £60 (soon to be increased to £90) fine, raising lots of lovely money for the safety partnership.
21 of the 33 safety partnerships surveyed by the Telegraph are installing the new digital cameras, and the number of cameras in these areas is likely to increase by more than 50% over the next twelve months.
This news comes after the coalition announced the end of the 'war on motorists' and cancelled the funding for new speed cameras.
Transport Minister Stephen Hammond said: "It is for local authorities and police to decide whether or not to use speed cameras and how they wish to operate them."
Now this is a problem for two main reasons. One, local authorities are incapable of formulating a sensible idea on just about anything; and two, they're completely brassic and likely to start nicking people for doing 31mph in a built-up area, simply to raise funds.
Brilliant.
