Smart motorways have raked in over £1 million for the Government in the last year as more than 50,000 motorists were caught speeding in 2015.
A total of 52,516 fixed penalties were issued on smart motorways, including on the M1, M25 and M6. On the same stretches before smart motorway technology was installed, only 2,023 were issued in one year.
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This new figure equates to an average of 1,000 motorists receiving a fine a week, according to police data obtained by the BBC's The One Show. Motorists have paid out £1.1 million in the past 12 months - up from £150,600 five years ago and equal to a 630% increase.
There are 11 smart motorway stretches in England, operated by Highways England. They use technology to monitor traffic to then determine adaptive speed limits, road signs and the closure or opening of lanes, sometimes including the hard shoulder.
Operating since 2006, the smart motorways can now be found across 236 miles of England, with a further 200 miles planned or in construction as part of a £6 billion Government investment.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “It is clear that speeding costs lives and we have been clear for a number of years that speed cameras should not be used to generate revenue.”
Some have their concerns, though, Edmund King, AA president, added: "Questions need to be answered about the money being recouped."
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King also believes more emergency refuge is needed on smart motorways to improve safety. He said: “Only a couple of weeks ago one of our members broke down on a smart motorway. The red ‘X’ to indicate a closed lane was ignored and they still got hit from behind.”
However, Shaun Piddock from Highways England defended smart motorways. He said: “They are the safest motorways on the network. We have 100 per cent CCTV coverage and we have people watching over them, making sure they're safe, and we can get people in the traffic office to them far safer and quicker than we can do on normal motorways."
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