Speed cameras caught 7,068 people at four fixed points at roads in Elmbridge in 2012, a new report has revealed.

In that year, 280 who were flashed and fined could have collectively paid a total of £280,300, although this figure would be reduced due to early payments.

Six people a day were flashed in Copsem Lane, Esher, which led to 50 people attending a speed awareness course, 30 pay speeding fines and 11 potential prosecutions, data from Drive Smart Surrey has revealed.

Only one person was killed or seriously injured and 17 people were injured in crashes in that year, on the A307 Portsmouth Road, Thames Ditton, A244 Copsem Lane, Esher, A309 Kingston Bypass Manor Road and A3 Esher bypass, Hook.

A review of evidence collated by Professor Richard Allsop for the RAC Foundation said: "If there is one subject which divides drivers like no other it is speed cameras. Are they a mechanism for saving life or a method of raising revenue?".

Councillor Chris Elmer, representing Walton South, encouraged people to set up a Community Speedwatch, and said: "The system is both a deterrent and an educational tool. You could say the same about speed cameras but the current generation of film-based cameras are not always working and of course we all know where they are so can slow down.

"The newer average speed and digital cameras could change effectiveness considerably. But isn't education a preferable route as well, as part of a range of methods?"

The mounted gantry speed cameras along the Surrey stretch of the M25 were turned on in January of this year. Figures are yet to be released on the number of people caught and the fines these cameras have led to.

The recent report by Professor Allsop studied a fixed camera site when it was out of action in 2010. It found "about 750 vehicles per week were observed exceeding the threshold with the camera operational and about 1,150 vehicles per week when it was out of action, out of a flow of about 55,000 vehicles per week."

Data from the Highways Agency revealed the number of accidents, including fatalities, on the M25 from J10-16 reached 195 in 2012.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: "Safety is the Highways Agency’s top priority, and we determined to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our network by 40 per cent before 2020.

"Variable speed limits have been used on this section of the M25 since the 1990s. They play a role in improving safety, and also help to smooth out traffic and reduce frustrating stop-start congestion."

The RAC Foundation report found decommissioning of speed cameras could result in about 800 extra people killed or seriously injured each year.