RESIDENTS across the West Midlands have backed a campaign to keep monies raised by speeding fines in the region.
Earlier this summer the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Simon Foster, launched a bid for the cash to be spent on road safety schemes locally rather than being sen to Westminster.
Mr Foster, says the funds should be ring-fenced for use by both West Midlands Police and the seven local authorities, in the delivery of the West Midlands Regional Road Safety Strategy 2023-2030.
They are currently sent to a central pot controlled by the Treasury.
According to the PCC more than 1,300 people took part in the four-week consultation, with 93 per cent agreeing with the campaign and 94 per cent saying they had personally witnessed cars driving at inappropriate or excessive speeds, while the same number said more needs to be done to tackle speeding on our roads.
The PCC said when asked how safe people feel on the roads, 77 per cent said they felt either unsafe or very unsafe.
Mr Foster said: “The consequences of road traffic collisions are catastrophic and devastating.
“This consultation has given a clear endorsement for my view, that money raised by speeding fines here in the West Midlands, should be retained here and invested in making our roads safer.”
An average of 16,654 fixed penalty tickets are processed by the West Midlands Police ticketing office per year, generating £1,654,000 in income for HM Treasury every year.
Currently, all money recovered from these fines are retained by the Treasury, via the fixed penalty office and this money is not always fed back into roads policing or to support local authorities’ road safety activities.
The PCC added: “This disposal method is not cost neutral to the police or to the local authorities, who own the cameras which enable excessive speed activations and the tickets to be generated.
“Enforcement is at a cost to the local authorities and to the police.
“This means that money, which could be used to prevent, tackle and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads and improve road safety more generally, is being used to generate revenue for Central Government.
“All money, generated through the enforcement of unlawful speeding on West Midlands roads, should be spent in the West Midlands.
“This can be used to fund further enforcement and improve safety on the road network for all road users, through interventions such as driver targeted behaviour change programmes, education and infrastructure enhancements and to make use of the road network safe for vulnerable road users, for example, pedestrians and cyclists.”
