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Speed cameras should be scrapped. So says Paul Smith, founder of safety organisation Safe Speed, and the Gatso's natural enemy.

Alex Eckford caught up with Paul to find out why he gave up his job to wage a one-man war.

"It was manic. I worked from midnight until 5am, and was just about to go to bed when the radio stations started calling. I gave up on getting any sleep at 8am," says Paul.

Last Friday a story broke about the Government's plans to introduce road tolls across the country. When TV and radio stations got hold of the story, Paul's phone turned white hot. It's the price he pays for being a leading authority on all aspects of road safety.

Safe Speed's mission is to bring sense and clarity to the exceptionally complicated subject of road safety. As an expert in the field, he's often asked to examine research by the highest authorities.

"I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but in 2004 I was asked by someone in the Government's Transport Committee to have a look at road pricing. I found such fundamental flaws with what was being proposed," says Paul.

"The trouble is we've got a system in this country where people evaluate the information they're receiving on the basis of the qualifications of the person who's delivering it. They don’t think to question it."

Paul set up the Safe Speed website in 2001, to campaign against what he saw as the injustice of speed cameras, and the misinformation and misconceptions about road safety.

"I heard of a case where a woman was caught twice by the same speed camera in the space of six minutes," says Paul. "She was on her way to a meeting in her new job. She lost her licence because of the points, and subsequently lost her job. Because she lost her job she also lost her house.

"This struck me as massively unfair, so I decided to pick apart the accepted beliefs, and the Government's commissioned research on speed cameras."

In 2003, after twenty five years of working as a consultant in the electronics industry, money from advertising on the site and donations from users enabled him to give up his job and dedicate all his time to the cause.

Far from acting as a deterrent, Paul believes speed cameras add to the danger on the roads by taking the responsibility away from the driver, and their concentration away from the road.

"I'd like to see speed cameras scrapped, so we can get resources back," says Paul. "Not just money, but the resources of drivers' minds."

According to Paul, the origin of speed cameras in this country is not as simple, or as noble, as it seems.

"What a lot of people don’t understand is speed cameras were originally a totally commercial concern," says Paul. "They were brought into this country by foreign businessmen in the early 1980s. It was nothing to do with road safety at all."

So what would Paul like to see happen?

"I'd like to see more money put into driving courses," says Paul. "We need to make driver effective risk managers. It's all about being aware of the environment you’re driving in.

"Something is obviously wrong with the Government's road policy," says Paul. "What worries me is their message is over-simplified. Their message is about not breaking the speed limit. But it should really be about risk management.

Retirement looks along way off for Paul. There are always plenty of things on the horizon.

"I'm worried about the increasing influence of Europe on our driving laws," says Paul. "Potentially, decisions are being handed over to Brussels. But the accident rates in Belgium are four times higher than ours. They should be coming to us for advice."

A great deal of what Paul says makes sense, and goes against the grain of received knowledge, and the message put out by the Government. One thing's for sure – he's not going away.

Agree with Paul? Or is he talking out of his Gatso? Send us an email now.

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