It’s all about safety!

Drivers caught speeding and jumping red lights are far more likely to be prosecuted in some areas than others, figures showed yesterday.

Details obtained by The Daily Telegraph indicate that a speed camera lottery has evolved, with some forces more than twice as likely to fine offenders.

The accounts of 35 safety camera partnerships showed that in some areas more than half of those drivers caught escaped automatic fines and points on their licence, while elsewhere every offender was punished.

Supporters and opponents of speed cameras united last night to condemn the inconsistency of enforcement. They said it raised questions over a key part of the Government's road safety policy.

"The message needs to be the same for drivers in all areas," said a spokesman for Brake, the road safety charity, which backs speed cameras.

Paul Smith, of Safespeed, one of the most vociferous critics of cameras, said: "This is a great cause for concern. We have lost control of the entire system."

Hailed by the Government as a vital weapon in its drive to bring down road deaths, the speed camera is regarded by some as little more than a cash cow designed to extract money from motorists.

Chris Grayling, the Tory transport spokesman, said the figures further exposed the Government's speed camera strategy.

"It has become clear in recent weeks that they are being used as a stealth tax and not for road safety purposes," he said.

"Now we know they are not even being enforced properly and this is making a mockery of the argument that they are an important tool in reducing casualties. It is time that speed cameras were used properly and consistently."

Whitehall figures showed that when drivers crossed into neighbouring counties they ran a significantly higher risk of punishment.

Almost one in four caught in South Yorkshire were not fined despite being warned of intended prosecution. But in neighbouring West Yorkshire fines and penalty points were imposed on every culprit.

Other partnerships to act against 100 per cent of motorists were Bedfordshire and Luton, Cheshire, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Kent and West Mercia.

While London was the only partnership to take action against less than half of offenders, several others appear to have decided not to prosecute a significant proportion.

In Greater Manchester, only 53 per cent received fixed penalty notices, while in the West Midlands the proportion was 59 per cent.

The lower prosecution rate in urban areas is believed to reflect a higher proportion of unregistered cars and foreign-owned cars, which makes tracking them down difficult.

About one in four in North Wales escaped fines, despite the tough line on speeding taken by Richard Brunstrom, the chief constable.

Many vehicles travelling through the area are driven by tourists - often Irish motorists using Holyhead ferries.

The discrepancies between prosecution rates can also be accounted for by some partnerships preferring speed awareness courses to fines.

The Transport Department said the figures could also be affected by motorists challenging the notice of intended prosecution or emergency vehicles caught on camera.

Difficulties in enforcement are known to have been exacerbated by inaccuracies in the number plate recognition databases used to identify offending motorists.

The Home Office admitted this year that information held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency was only 40 per cent correct, while the records of the Police National Computer were only 79 per cent accurate.