THE real reason why motorists dislike and distrust speed cameras which have sprung up all over the UK, is not because they bring honest motorists onto the fringes of criminality, but because they bring us into contact with "council persons".

The police are not the problem. With occasional exceptions, they do a horrendous job brilliantly, some suffering serious injury and even death in the line of duty. Council persons, on the other hand, do little to earn respect and admiration.

Often arrogant, smug and complacent, in my experience they tend to do most things badly while moaning about their pay grades. Town hall persons are very good at monitoring situations and producing reports, which are not acted upon, but they seldom actually do anything useful. We now no longer expect council persons to protect children at risk and we resent their powers under the recent Road Traffic Act, which includes their operation of speed cameras. It makes life too easy for them.

I have not been caught out by these cameras yet but I am sure my turn will come. However, I have been to plenty of Unison conferences where town hall persons can be heard whining about the problems they encounter dealing with the incandescent victims of these infernal devices. Last I heard, they were after bullet-proof glass screens, permanent bodyguards and danger money. The pity of it is that they will probably get all three.

Finally, I do not accept what was said by the police in Peel Round (Dec 20) about the intention behind speed cameras being to increase road safety. Most of us have enough respect for our own necks to try to drive safely at all times anyway. The ones who do not, joy-riders, car thieves, fleeing criminals, uninsured itinerants, renegade truck drivers, doped or drunk drivers, stressed-out school-run mothers, and 4x4 owners, are not going to be deterred by speed cameras anyway.

This leads to repeats of the allegation that the authorities find most of their success in being parasites on the innocent and the honest. Was there ever better evidence to support this than speed cameras?

FIAT LUX