CONGRATULATIONS must be extended to the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety on their plans to introduce the new dedicated child road safety campaign, Beesafe, which is soon to be 'rolled out' in schools across the county from this new term. However, it is a pity that the introduction is only coming now.

Perhaps the Lancashire Partnership could advise how many young lives could have been saved if this scheme had been introduced along with the introduction of speeding cameras and funded by the vast amount of monies raised from them at that time.

But, then, I forgot that a large percentage of monies raised from speeding fines goes to swell the coffers of the Treasury, as indeed do all other forms of extra tax revenue.

I am pleased to note (Letters, September 8) that they have actually measured the extra braking distance involved when a driver is travelling at an extra five mph, but then disappointed they have swept under the carpet, the findings of the Transport Research Laboratory by referring to the data (which identifies inattentiveness, carelessness and poor judgment and not speeding as the main cause of accidents) as 'casual factors.'

Please don't insult our intelligence. An attentive, careful and well-judged driver would stop a well maintained vehicle from 35 mph, quicker than an inattentive, careless and ill-judged driver would from 30 mph, purely because the reaction times of each of the drivers would be very much different.

Speed cameras do not work, by the mere fact that they are static. Drivers simply slow down to the speed limit while passing them and then speed up again to the speed they were travelling at originally.

I have been told that the cost of each camera is £12,000.

This figure would go a long way to paying the wages of an extra police officer, who would then be available not only to tackle inattentive, careless and ill-judged drivers, and, yes, even the speeding motorists, but also the burglars and muggers that plague our society today.

What would you rather see on our streets -- more speed cameras or more police officers?

No doubt the Lancashire partnership can provide many reasons why we should have more speed cameras instead of police on our streets. But, then, they would because not only do the monies raised go to swell the Treasury, but also to pay their wages!

DAVID GLEDHILL Brunshaw Road, Burnley.