SPEED cameras are successfully helping to "cut unnecessary tragedy", according to a road safety manager.
The comments follow latest figures which show the number of motorists caught by mobile and fixed speed cameras on the county roads has dramatically fallen over the past four years.
Between January 2004 and June 2005, Essex Police issued 75,000 £60 fines to drivers caught breaking speed limits.
In the corresponding period between 2007 and 2008 that number fell by nearly 70 per cent to 24,000.
Essex County Council network and safety manager Rosemary Welch said: “The cameras have been quietly working through the urban areas to reduce casualties, but they are not the only tool being used.
"A programme of engineering and education has and will continue to cut unnecessary tragedy in Essex.”
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