Some people label them “money-making machines” while others believe they save lives.
The fact is, mobile cameras catch more than 5,000 drivers breaking the speed limit in Tayside every year.
Now, the Tele can reveal that, in the past three years, cameras have been catching motorists in 30 new spots across Dundee, Angus and Perthshire.
Over this period, 93 new locations have been added across Scotland. The biggest increase in one particular area is Tayside.
There are 11 new locations on the A94 between Perth and Forfar alone, plus another six on the A90 between Dundee and Perth.
Despite the increase, Tayside Safety Camera Partnership manager Arron Duncan said it was not because the roads were any more dangerous than they used to be.
He added: “There are no indications that the routes have got worse than they were, and we already had a road strategy for these two particular roads.
“The Forfar to Perth section of the A94 is one where there were collisions happening, but not at a particular location.
“There didn’t appear to be any one place where you’d say ‘this site needs attention’.
“What we did was look at the lengths of road and picked areas that didn’t have coverage already.”
Arron said that there was proof mobile cameras help reduce speed and increase safety, with four previous spots being taken off the list in Tayside because of good results.
He added: “The four that have been removed are sites where we have made a difference and there is no collision history now.
“They are the A822 between Crieff and Muthill, the A91 between Milnathort and Carnbo, the A92 between Arbroath and Montrose and Laird Street, in Dundee.
“When a site has achieved its aim for a period of time, we continue to monitor it, but the van doesn’t go there anymore.
“We see a marked reduction in collisions and speed profile at the areas where the vans are placed, so these new ones are to fill in the gaps and raise driver awareness of their speed at these locations.”
But not everyone in Dundee agreed with the controversial scheme. More than 5,300 people had to pay a fixed penalty after being caught speeding in Tayside between 2013/14, which would have raised at least 300,000 in fines.
Some drivers believe the cameras are there to simply make money.
Marc Michalski, 42, a night porter from Douglas, said: “It’s a money-making exercise and I don’t think they make the roads safer. I think they actually make people more frustrated.”
Keith Mill, 55, a transport manager from Tayport, said: “I think it’s a bit of both.
“It is definitely a money-making machine, but I don’t mind if they are in an accident blackspot.
“At the end of the day, 70mph is a joke.
“It was brought in during the ’70s, and we have much safer cars now.”
Donna Howie, 50, a nurse from Whitfield, said: “I think that they are out there to make money, but for me it doesn’t really matter, as I don’t speed anyway.
“I think they are effective in slowing other people down.”
Jennifer Ramsay, 19, a supervisor at Dominoes from Monifieth, said that when she was caught by a camera it helped to slow her down in the future.
She said: “I was caught speeding when I first passed my test and I got a couple of points on my licence.
“I think it made me more aware, and I don’t speed now.”