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Speeding punishment depends on where you are caught, The Independent says

The consequences of being caught speeding by a safety camera depend on where in the country you are, according to a recent report in The Independent.

In areas including Cheshire, Hertfordshire and Kent, nearly every offender will be traced - but in London and Manchester half of drivers escape fines and points.

The DfT said the figures were not taken over a sufficiently long period to be representative, but motorist groups called for greater consistency after the accounts of 35 safety-camera partnerships showed significant regional discrepancies.

An RAC spokesman said: "You could be driving through one county where prosecution rates are high, but in another the message could be very different. Number-plate cloning and failure to update registration details are also problems that affect the figures. Some forces offer speed awareness courses instead of points on a licence."

The road safety charity, Brake, said the problem needed investigating. "There needs to be a reasonable consistency for drivers across the country," a spokeswoman said. "People who speed need to know that there's a reasonable chance they can be caught and, if they are caught, they are going to be prosecuted."

In Greater Manchester only 53% of those caught received fixed penalty notices, while in the West Midlands the proportion was 59%. London had the worst rate - only 46% of offenders were fined.

In South Yorkshire, almost one-quarter escaped fines despite being warned of intended prosecution. But in West Yorkshire every culprit was punished. Other partnerships to act against 100% of motorists were Bedfordshire and Luton, Humberside and West Mercia. Gloucestershire, along with Avon and Somerset, had a 57% prosecution rate, and in Essex it was 58%.