COLLISONS on the A14 have more than halved since the introduction of average speed cameras, according to figures to be published by the police today (Wednesday). During the first two months of the cameras going live on the A14 between the Spittals interch

COLLISONS on the A14 have more than halved since the introduction of average speed cameras, according to figures to be published by the police today (Wednesday).

During the first two months of the cameras going live on the A14 between the Spittals interchange and the M11, the number of collisions has fallen.

The figures show that this year, between July 15 and September 15, there were eight collisions on that stretch of the A14, compared to 21 for the same period in 2006.

During the same period this year, the police said no one has been seriously injured, with just 12 people suffering minor injuries, compared to three serious injuries and 36 minor injuries for the same period in 2006.

Inspector Matt Johnson said: "We are still at the early stages of this process and it would be too soon to speculate on the long term impact of the cameras but these initial figures are encouraging.

"Installing the cameras was never about making money through speeding fines but about reducing speed to save lives and reduce serious injuries."

During the first four months since the cameras went live on July 9, a total of 258 speeding offences have been recorded. As a comparison, during the week of testing before the cameras went live, there were 91 offences in seven days.

Inspector Johnson added: "We have seen a substantial reduction in the number of speeding offences which is encouraging.

"Excessive and inappropriate speed is one of the main contributors to avoidable collisions that result in death or serious injuries.

"I hope this early success will demonstrate to the public the importance of reducing their speed and to those who continue to ignore the law it will act as a warning."

The cameras work by using automatic average speed digital technology and are linked to create a speed control zone. As vehicles pass between camera pairs they are digitally recorded. The time taken to travel between two known points is used to calculate the average speed.