Wales' top speed camera snaps 8,400 offences in 2016

Wales' most prolific fixed speed camera recorded more than 8,400 offences last year - potentially generating £840,000, new figures have revealed.

The camera on Cardiff's southbound North Road was the busiest in both the South Wales Police area and Wales.

The total offences captured across Wales' force areas rose from 169,000 in 2015 to 171,000 (1.1%) last year.

Road safety partnership Go Safe said the locations with the highest numbers reflect the level of traffic.

Operations manager Teresa Healy said: "The proportion of drivers exceeding the speed limit represents a small percentage of the overall traffic flow and should not be considered the usual speed of traffic on these roads."

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said there should be no perception that cameras are more about raising revenue than they are about safety.

He added: "We have made repeated calls for camera site accident data to be made public so we can all see the facts.

"The best camera would be one which detected no-one speeding. Where hundreds if not thousands of people are being caught then that very fact is telling us that the presence of the camera isn't working and it's time to ask why."

He said it could be because speed limits are not being clearly displayed, the road layout may need looking at or additional measures may be needed.

North Wales Police's busiest fixed speed camera - on the A483 dual carriageway at junction 7, Rossett, in Wrexham - recorded about 4,500 offences.

There were about 4,400 offences recorded by the speed camera between junction 23a to junction 24 on the westbound M4, near Newport - the busiest in the Gwent Police area.

The top-recording camera in the Dyfed-Powys Police area - on the A44 at Ponterwyd, in Ceredigion - registered about 650 offences in 2016.

The figures were obtained via an Freedom of Information request made by BBC Radio Wales' Dot Davies programme.

Drivers penalised for a speeding offence in the UK now face minimum fines of £100 and three penalty points.

If all the offences recorded across Wales in 2016 were upheld, the total fines would be worth at least £17.1m.

In April, it was revealed more than 13,000 people were caught speeding on the M4 around Newport since enforcement was introduced six months earlier - an average of 84 a day.

• For more information on this story listen to the Dot Davies programme on BBC Radio Wales from 09:00 BST on Friday 12 May.