The Government's reported plan to halt the relentless march of speed cameras and change the way in which revenue netted through them can be spent is a welcome one. There is no doubt that cameras have sometimes been misused and as a result have become discredited, with the public generally believing they are being viewed as money-raising devices to pay for still more cameras.

Under the suggested new system the camera partnerships would be instructed to look first at spending the money on other safety-improvement measures before installing further cameras. That makes sense. Road safety has become too reliant on them. Indeed, some authorities which have decided to spend less on cameras and more on other measures claim to have found that the number of road deaths has subsequently gone down

There is no doubt that in some circumstances speed cameras do a good job and can save lives. But they should be only part of a package of measures designed to make our roads safer by encouraging people to slow down when conditions demand it. That includes the sensible application of speed limits, which many drivers disregard when they don't consider them to be appropriate.

There is no doubt that speed kills, and it is right to keep cracking down on those drivers who go too fast in the wrong places and in the wrong circumstances. But tackling speed and its consequences needs a more subtle approach than merely battering it with the blunt instrument of cameras, cameras and more cameras.