YOUR story about speed enforcement (“Camera vans income falls short”, July 2) demonstrates the perversity of some of those elected and charged to deal honestly with this electorate.

As a councillor in c2002 (also representing York on the now defunct North Yorkshire Police Authority) I was present at the CYC planning meeting which endorsed the proposed, locally-supported, 50mph speed restriction on the A19 through Skelton.

A serving police traffic officer addressed the meeting and categorically confirmed that North Yorkshire’s finest did not support, so would NOT enforce, this reduced limit. This should be in CYC’s meeting minutes.

North Yorkshire Police’s cameras may have successfully caught many drivers prematurely accelerating when leaving Shipton, but I wonder how many were caught in Skelton: its van was often concealed by trees, lurking in the northbound lay-by.

Has North Yorkshire Police altered its policy? If so, it would show integrity if it formally went public stating that it now - rightly - enforces Skelton’s speed limit. Except (reality check!) that, as a matter of course, I’m regularly slowed in traffic, unaccountably trundling at 30mph to 40mph in this 50mph speed limit. So I suspect that cameras monitoring this stretch will hardly prove cost-effective.

Perhaps Ms Mulligan will claim that this perversely proves that North Yorkshire Police’s enforcement strategy is working.

Nick Blitz,

Wilkinsons Court, Easingwold

Headline focuses on negative of cameras

WHY does your headline “Speed cameras make £2.1m less than target” (The Press, July 2) concentrate on the negative?

Surely the reason for the safety camera vans is to get drivers to reduce speed?

In which case, the headline could have been “Speed camera vans a success”.

Tim Short,

Chestnut Grove,

Acomb, York

Speed checkpoints are doing their job

I REFER to your recent news story headlined “Camera vans income falls short”. Surely this is good news?

It means the speed checkpoints are doing what is intended and deterring motorists from exceeding the speed limit.

I hope the intention was not to raise money but to encourage motorists to obey the law and keep the roads safer for all road users.

Harry Punter,

Corncroft,

Strensall, York

Indications of your car’s secret device

NOT many people know this but your car has a secret device on it called an indicator.

If you look at your steering column, you’ll find a secret stick (have a look and see if you can find it) which will activate a flashing orange light on the outside of your car.

It flashes to let other drivers know which direction you are thinking of going.

D M Deamer,

Penleys Grove Street,

Monkgate, York