WITH almost £7.6million collected in fines and 128,000 speeding tickets issued county-wide no one can argue that roadside cameras are not effective in raising revenue.

Whether they have the same impact on accident figures is nothing like as clear cut.

The number of road deaths and injuries in Lancashire has gone down but, as the RAC Foundation points out, accidents on side roads -- perhaps used by motorists trying to avoid speed cameras -- appear to be rising.

As the Foundation says, and 128,000 tickets prove, it is clear that speed cameras don't always slow down drivers. They should be treated as one weapon for use in the battle to cut accidents.

The cash generated, for example, would surely be well spent not merely on buying more cameras but installing road humps and other traffic calming measures on the side roads where accidents are rising.

Boy racers and other young drivers, who show off by roaring around housing estates and town centres, should also be targeted.

And police could also watch for dangerous manoeuvres and driving styles so that the emphasis is on improving our behaviour on roads rather than raising pots of cash by trapping motorists who wander 5mph over the speed limit.

If speeding can be made socially unacceptable -- like drinking and driving has in the past decade -- a lot will have been achieved. But such cultural change will take more than cameras.