New Drive By Spies Raise £8 Million In Fines

Friday, 6. August 2010

: Image via Wikipedia

Have you seen one of the new CCTV Smart cars in your travels? If you have then they have probably been spying on you. It’s the latest idea to catch motorists doing illegal things like parking. Known as ‘Drive by spies’ these cars have raised £8 million in fines over the last 12 months from 188,000 motorists. There are 54 CCTV equipped Smart ForTwo cars operating in different towns and cities. In Essex the units are used to film women illegally parking whils dropping children off at school whilst one in Greater Manchester films those talking on mobile phones whilst driving. Many people have complains that whilst some local authorities have stopped using fixed speed cameras as they don’t improve road safety and had simply been used to raise money, this is exactly what these new Smart cars are doing, raising cash for local authorities at the cost of the motorist. 23 of the councils lease the cars from parking contractors who in turn make no secret as to how profitable the cars are for those running them. Good idea or bad – have your say? By Graham Hill