DRIVER speeds are rising at sites in Hull where cameras have been withdrawn, it has been claimed.
The use of mobile speed cameras at 17 locations across the city ended last year when Hull City Council pulled out of the Safer Roads Humber partnership.
Live coverage at some fixed camera sites in Hull has also been reduced as a result of the funding cut.
The move saved the council about £200,000 a year.
Now, partnership manager Mick Harris says driver speeds in the city are increasing in the absence of regular camera enforcement.
He said: "There is an indication that speeds are going up at some of the sites since we have stopped enforcement.
"Because of the city council's decision to withdraw from the partnership, we no longer have mobile sites in Hull.
"However, there are still a number of fixed cameras in the city where enforcement does take place.
"Not all of those fixed cameras are operational all of the time.
"However, for obvious reasons we do not give out public information about which cameras are working and which ones are not."
Speaking at an East Riding Council scrutiny committee, Mr Harris confirmed all revenue raised from speeding fines linked to the cameras went straight to the Government.
He said the partnership's day-to- day running costs are met by funding from the other three councils in the Humber region and some Whitehall funding.
However, most of the costs are funded by motorists paying to attend awareness training courses after being caught by speed cameras as an option to being fined and having three points added to their driving licence.
Last year, drivers paid £1.1m in training course fees.
Mr Harris said reduced council and government funding in recent years had prompted a shift in emphasis away from relying solely on camera enforcement.
He said: "A large part of our work is now dedicated to education and diversion through speed awareness training and a new national online training course on the use of seat belts.
"It is part of an almost psychological attempt to develop and encourage people to adapt and change their driving habits.
"We are trying to encourage a different mindset to be able to drive safely on our roads by keeping people up to date on the requirements of new legislation and new traffic signs."
Humberside police and crime commissioner Matthew Grove said he was planning to hold a "public summit" on the issue of speed cameras.
He said: "The idea would be to get all interested organisations involved in road safety to debate whether the cameras are simply a cash cow or delivering real value for money."
