Motorists face a new speed camera blitz and £100 fines as 20mph limits are imposed on some of Britain’s busiest roads . Motorists face a new speed camera blitz and £100 fines as 20mph limits are imposed on some of Britain’s busiest roads. Until now, lower speed limits have been restricted to smaller roads in residential areas or near schools. But in a major policy shift, 20mph limits are to be introduced on major arterial roads – and policed by the latest digital speed cameras. Campaigners say it is the start of a radical new nationwide attempt to slow traffic down. London Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday revealed that eight pilot schemes will be run on ‘Red Routes’ – the main arterial roads that carry a third of the capital’s traffic. Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and many other towns and cities say they also intend to introduce the new limits. Motorists caught breaking the 20mph limit face a minimum £100 fine and three points on their driving licence. The AA says the new limits are being driven more by ‘dogma’ than road safety. A spokesman said: ‘These 20mph zones are popping up like spring daffodils. ‘There is a lot of fear among drivers that, with 20mph being a relatively unfamiliar speed, widespread speed camera use will make them look more at their speedometers than at what is happening on populated streets in front of them.’ If the 18-month trials in London are judged a success, the 20mph limits will be made permanent and imposed on 30 miles of key ‘Red Routes’ considered by transport bosses to be ‘more local road than motorway’. Some 175 miles of residential streets, about a quarter of the capital’s roads, already have 20mph limits. The trend is spreading across Britain. Following a pilot scheme, Bristol has spent more than £2.3million installing 20mph signs. Manchester is consulting on half the city being similarly covered, and 6,000 Edinburgh residents have signed a petition against a £2.2million scheme to make up to 80 per cent of the Scottish capital a 20mph zone. Alec James, of Sustrans – a charity campaigning for healthier and cheaper transport – said of the London announcement: ‘This is a significant step up – and the next step on the road for more 20mph limits. Mayor of London Boris Johnson, pictured, wants to introduce new 20mph speed limits across the city . Upper Street in Islington, pictured, is also going to be hit by a 20mph limit as part of the 18-month trial . ‘It’s pioneering. For the first time 20mph limits are being imposed on main arterial roads – not just quiet residential roads where there is little traffic. We expect other cities to follow London’s lead.’ But the AA says while 20mph limits have their place, they should not be introduced where they will increase traffic jams and pollution – and where residents want them, not imposed in a ‘blanket’ fashion. A blanket rollout of 20mph zones in towns and cities will result in millions of pounds in fines pouring into Treasury coffers, the AA warned last night. Motorists caught on speed cameras going over 20mph will be fined a minimum of £100, and get three points on their licence. The money goes to the Treasury. Until 2007, Safety Camera Partnerships kept all the cash they raised from fines, often using it to buy more cameras to generate more money. This led to motorists complaining that the cameras were being used as ‘cash cow’ revenue-raisers. To defuse the controversy, the system was scrapped and all fines are paid directly to the Treasury, which in turn returns the cash as a general road safety grant to pay for cameras and ‘other measures’. The AA says it does not oppose 20mph limits where appropriate and where they are supported by residents, but it fears many councils and campaign groups are being driven by ‘an inherent or institutional prejudice against the motor car’. A spokesman said: ‘The blanket rollout of so many 20mph limits and zones is going to push lots of money into Treasury coffers and give them a cash windfall. Worried drivers may feel well and truly fleeced if they are caught on camera and fined for being marginally over the speed limit.’ Other councils which have implemented or are committed to adopting new 20mph limits include Portsmouth, Oxford, Bristol, Newcastle, Warrington, Sheffield, York, Middlesbrough, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Brighton & Hove, Leicester, Cambridge, Coventry, Bath & North East Somerset, Darlington, Wigan, Rochdale, Shipley, Bury, Bolton, Nottingham, Calderdale, together with numerous London boroughs. Under the new London scheme, the first road to convert to 20mph next month will be Commercial Street in Shoreditch, linking into plans for Tower Hamlets and Hackney to become 20mph boroughs. Transport for London said: ‘Safety cameras across London are being upgraded to new digital cameras which will have the capability to help police enforce 20mph speed limits’, adding that it hoped the new limits will reduce the number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists killed or seriously injured by 40 per cent by 2020. Rod King, founder of the ‘20’s Plenty for Us’ campaign group, said: ‘The current 30mph national limit is being rejected as “unfit for purpose” for communities so we’re setting out a series of government actions required for a planned transition to a UK default urban limit of 20mph by 2020.’ A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Research shows 20mph zones can save lives and this government has made it easier for councils to introduce them. ‘It is for local authorities to set speed limits and for the police to decide how best to enforce them.’ The spokesman added: ‘We are undertaking a three-year research project to better understand the effect of 20mph zones and their impact on local communities.’ r.massey@dailymail.co.uk .
Speed limits on major arterial roads to be lowered in major policy shift . Motorists caught breaking 20mph limit will face minimum fines of £100 . Campaigners said scheme was part of nationwide attempt to slow traffic . But the AA said the change was being driven more by 'dogma' than safety . It fears change will make drivers focus on speedometers instead of road .