The cameras installed in roadworks on motorways ended up catching 77,666 drivers who ignored temporary speed limits
Fifteen temporary speed traps snared nearly 80,000 motorists – potentially raising £4.7million in fines.
The cameras installed in roadworks on motorways including the M1, M5, M6, M25 and M54 ended up catching 77,666 speeders.
The length of time the cameras were positioned and the number of drivers who were caught and fined £60 each varied between locations.
The busiest were on the M54 in Shropshire and Staffordshire, where 13,000 drivers were snapped breaking a 50mph limit over an 18-month period while the carriageway was widened.
On the M6 at Thelwall Viaduct, Cheshire, cameras caught 11,000 vehicles between March and May last year – potentially raising £10,000 in fines per day.
However, not all the speeding offences were turned into cash as some drivers were never traced and some “offences” will have been triggered by 999 crews.
Hugh Bladon, of the Alliance of British Drivers, questioned the need for the speed traps.
He told the Sunday People : “When there was a trend for the cameras to be switched off there was no increase in the accident rate.”
But a spokesman for Highways England said: “A tiny minority (of motorists) deem it appropriate to speed through roadworks.
“Their blatant disregard for road safety puts other drivers and our workforce at risk.”
The highest-earning temporary cameras
1) M54 near Wolverhampton, 13,484 drivers in 18 months.
2) M6 Thelwall Viaduct, Cheshire, 11,384 in 10 weeks. 3) Hammersmith flyover in London, 8,590 in 5 months. 4) M5 in Gloucestershire, (Jcts 10-12), 8,127 in a year. 5) M25 Jct23 and 24, Herts - 6,333 in 7 months. 6) M1 Tinsley Viaduct, Sheffield, 5,483 in 6 months. 7) M25 near Godstone, Surrey, 4,786 in a year. 8) M25, Clacket Lane services, 4,491 in a year. 9) M6 near Tebay services, Cumbria, 4,138 in 8 months. 10) M23 near Gatwick, nabbed 2,195 in 4 weeks. 11) M5 near Bristol airport caught 2,156 . 12) M180 near Doncaster caught 1,788 in 2 months. 13) M1 near Barnsley, 1,742 nabbed in six weeks. 14) A3, near Liss, Hants, 1,720 drivers in 3 months. 15) A23, Handcross Hill, W Sussex 1,24