CAMPAIGN groups are warning that company car drivers will escape speeding fines if roadside cameras are painted yellow.

Transport 2000 and the Slower Speeds Initiative lodged papers in the High Court this week to challenge the Government on its record on speed cameras.

They are seeking a judicial review of secret Government guidelines on speed cameras, which state that all cameras must be painted bright yellow and their presence made obvious to speeding motorists.

Transport 2000 assistant director Vicky Cann said: 'The danger of these guidelines is that speeding motorists will brake before a yellow camera and then speed away after it, knowing they are 'safe' from prosecution.'

Paige Mitchell, head of the Slower Speeds Initiative, added: 'The Government's decision to paint all speed cameras yellow, which they admit was based on no scientific evidence whatsoever, flies in the face of research that shows that cameras should be inconspicuous to deter deliberate speeders and that deliberate speeders are the ones most likely to crash. Painting all cameras yellow gives speeding motorists a clear message: if you cannot see a camera, you will not get caught.'

The groups say that speed is a contributory factor in one-third of all fatal crashes.