FEWER drivers are in favour of speed cameras because they think police use them as a way of making money from the fines, according to the AA.

It fears that the Government and police forces are not doing enough to convince drivers that cameras are about reducing casualties and not raising money.

The AA has carried out research which shows that 41 per cent of drivers consider speed cameras to be very acceptable, compared to 53 per cent in a previous survey.

It has been carried out after statistics revealed a rise in deaths on roads in the Thames Valley region.

There was a 15 per cent rise in fatalities on roads in 2000, from 150 to 173, though there were 5.8 per cent fewer serious injuries.

Thames Valley, covering Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, is one of the regions that took part in a pilot scheme where part of the money in speeding fines was returned to the police for more speed cameras.

The Safer Roads Campaign began in April last year to reduce the number of casualties on Thames Valley roads by increasing speed enforcement and educating drivers about the dangers of inappropriate speed.

Insp Malcolm Collis, who heads the partnership, was pleased there had been a five per cent drop overall in the number of people killed and seriously injured.

He said: "We accept that our figures do not show as dramatic a reduction as those in the other pilot areas but nonetheless we are encouraged by the fact that we have exceeded our target."

Insp Collis said: "We are now looking at new strategies to achieve even greater results, including the use of mobile cameras."

The use of stationary Gatso type cameras has brought disapproval from drivers' organisations who consider many cameras to be hidden and hard to see. The Government, in extending the pilot scheme, wants new cameras to be well-signed and visible but nothing is to be done to make current cameras more visible.

Andrew Howard, AA head of road safety, said: "Public support for cameras is crucial. The public become uneasy when police are allowed access to revenues and police must be as open as possible about the funding, signing and siting of cameras."