A14 roadworks speed cameras catch 5,000 drivers

An average of nearly a dozen drivers a day are caught speeding on a section of the Cambridgeshire A14.

Variable speed cameras were set up on the road between junctions at Girton and Histon in April 2014.

Nearly 5,000 drivers have been snapped exceeding the 50mph (80kph) limit since then, a BBC freedom of information inquiry has revealed.

Many drivers chose to take a speed awareness course costing £90, but 1,454 took three penalty points and a fine.

Police said they would continue to prosecute as the speed limit was imposed for the safety of the workforce on the road.

Simon Williams, from the RAC, said the variable speed cameras were highly effective because they eliminated the stop-start culture of static cameras where drivers slow down as they approached and speed p again when out of range.

"If a driver has a momentary lapse of concentration they can slow down to compensate and stay within the limit," he said

Tony Barrios, a retired road safety officer at Cambridgeshire Police, now runs driver awareness courses and said he was not surprised at the figures

These show that 2,583 drivers were speeding on the west-bound carriageway and 2,365 east-bound.

"This is a short section of road and sticking to the limit will not delay a driver by much," he said.