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Speed camera capital of Lancs
BLACKPOOL is the speed camera capital of Lancashire, despite being geographically the smallest borough in the county.
There are more fixed speed cameras in the resort than anywhere else in Lancashire, The Gazette can reveal.
Even cities like Preston and Lancaster do not have as many.
And boroughs like the Ribble Valley, which cover a much larger area, have less than 50 per cent the number of speed traps here.
The information comes from the official Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety website.
Statistics show that in Blackpool, there are 31 static speed cameras, compared to 29 in Preston, and 15 in Lancaster.
But police say the number of cameras to volume of traffic is probably less than in most places in Lancashire.
The neighbouring borough of Wyre has just eight cameras, while Fylde has nine and the Ribble Valley, which is several times the size of Blackpool, has five.
The speed camera programme is run by the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety and the county's police force.
Yesterday, The Gazette revealed how the Northern Division of Lancashire Police – which covers areas of Wyre – had zapped motorists and motorcyclists while hidden in the back of an unmarked van.
That policy was defended by Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety project manager, Ian Bell, who said it had been put in place to clamp down on motorcyclists and drivers who were shattering 50mph speed limits on quiet roads.
Information on the Road Safety Partnership's site also shows that in addition to the 31 static sites in Blackpool, there 10 mobile enforcement sites and four areas of ''community concern''. They are policed on an occasional basis by mobile speed cameras which are usually housed in the back of marked police cars.
The website says: "Safety cameras are not designed to trap motorists as they only come into play when the speed limit has been exceeded and the law broken.
"In Lancashire alone, road casualties cost a staggering 370m per annum, and untold personal suffering and loss."
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Weather for Blackpool
Monday 13 February 2012
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Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
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