Don't cash in on crime

The only indisputable fact about roadside speed cameras is that - if you stick rigidly to the speed limit - you will not get a ticket, a fine and penalty points on your licence.

After that, opinion is, very often, deeply divided.

Yesterday, as Transport Secretary Alistair Darling brandished a new set of figures claiming to show the cameras save lives and alter driving habits for the better, Durham Chief Constable Paul Garvin again offered his opinion in the debate.

Mr Garvin is no fan of speed cameras.

He sees them as having limited potential as a deterrent, doing nothing to combat other dangerous activities on the road and potentially damaging to relations between the public and police.

Mr Garvin believes "intelligence led" police activity - carried out by specialist traffic officers and mobile cameras - offer a more flexible approach to all types of road traffic offences, not just speeding.

Mr Darling begs to differ - and yesterday offered a sheaf of impressive statistics to back up his argument.

The problem for Mr Darling is one of credibility.

A system which fines errant drivers, uses the cash to provide new cameras but sees "the remainder" disappear into the Treasury's coffers, is bound to arouse suspicions.

That is something this Government seems singularly unable to grasp.

Decent, ordinary citizens will accept any system of crime and punishment which is patently open and fair.

Use "the remainder" for more imaginative road safety measures and, it is a fair bet, that much of the public cynicism would melt away.

The Journal never has, and never will, advocate breaking the law in a motor vehicle.

Cars driven too quickly, in the wrong place, by the wrong people and outside the laws which govern their use are quite obviously a danger to life and limb.

Equally though, and as with any other law, the way such offences are dealt with should be fair, transparent and - preferably - act as a deterrent too others.

Speed cameras fail on the latter two points.

They do little other than make drivers observe the speed limit in the immediate range of the camera. They do nothing to deter a welter of other driving faults which cause carnage on our roads.

Worse still they undermine people's respect for the law by, rightly or wrongly, perpetuating a feeling that the Government is cashing in on crime.

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Play fair with our pensions Gordon

The Treasury still has a key role to play if Britain is to avoid a pensions crisis.

Gordon Brown's achievement in providing years of economic stability is not to be ignored - but his policies are based heavily on high consumer spending and house prices which are rising by themselves.

Such a combination does not lend itself to creating a society where prudence and careful financial planning are uppermost in people's minds. Those people who do pay into occupational pension schemes have seen Mr Brown plunder millions and many wonder why they bother.

The Government is trying to encourage people to stay at work until they are 70. Is it any wonder this suggestion has gone down like the proverbial lead balloon?

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