Speed cameras have been questioned as an Oxfordshire driver was fined £300 after travelling at 59mph on the M4.
In the county, there have been several instances of motorists being caught speeding and fined in recent years on roads such as the M40 and A34.
Back on February 2, 2025, a driver from East Hendred near Wantage was caught speeding in a 50mph zone on the A34 near Wytham.
The motorist was clocked at 57mph at the time of the incident, and was ordered to pay a fine of £40, costs of £120 and a victim surcharge of £16.
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Speed cameras also caught a motorist from Enstone in Oxfordshire travelling at 59mph between junctions 24 and 25 of the M4 close to Newport in Wales.
Following the incident on August 22, 2024, when a 50mph speed restriction had been in place, the motorist was ordered to pay costs of £90, a victim surcharge of £60 and a fine of £150.
Yet the way speed cameras operate has been called into question by a recent discussion held by The Guardian entitled "Should speed cameras be hidden?".
Amy from Cornwall said: "What’s the point of having speed limits if camera-warning signs and apps allow drivers to slow down in advance, then just continue speeding?
"Maybe the UK government, in its new consultations on road safety, should add the question of hiding speed cameras to their list of concerns.
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"I’m a driver, but also a pedestrian and cyclist and get fed up with seeing cars zooming down local roads at way more than 20 or 30mph.
"There are flashing lights that tell drivers what speed they’re doing, but there’s no penalty for going over at those points."
Duncan Davis responded: "Evidence shows that the signs that tell you the speed you are doing are far more effective and for a greater distance afterwards at slowing people down than speed cameras.
"Having said that, average speed cameras seem to be a good direction to go, obviously better on long single roads than towns with lots of roads leaving and joining, although it could still work."
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Another person highlighted the use of ANPR cameras and suggested that they were the way forward for catching speeders.
"It has always struck me that the use of average speed cameras is much more effective at keeping vehicle speeds down to the speed limit," they said.
"These use ANPR to check the time between cameras, so virtually all drivers stay at the speed limit, but then speed up after passing the last camera, presumably to make up for the time they think they have lost while sticking to the speed limit.
"As ANPR spreads more widely, it can't be beyond the technology to use their data to better effect by catching speeders too."
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