The Association of British Drivers, a UK motorist group, is accusing the Wiltshire and Swindon Speed Camera Partnership of revenue raising with what should be public information. The Partnership, which operates the speed cameras on the M4 freeway, has been withholding data on the accident history used to justify placement of cameras on the freeway. When the group pressed for more information, the Partnership said it would charge £111 (US $211) for every database hit to produce the data -- a charge that could reach into the thousands.

"We've found time and again that camera partnerships will do anything to conceal the causes of crashes," said ABD Chairman Brian Gregory, "It's time for the Partnerships to end their culture of secrecy and spin and just come clean. We want to see each partnership showing the causes of accidents that have led to cameras on their websites."

UK government guidelines require that speed cameras only be used on roads with a significant accident history so that all appearances of revenue raising are avoided. A recent freedom of information act investigation found that the accidents used to justify cameras on the A12 in the UK were not actually caused by speeding.