Motoring organisations have criticised a scheme to give traffic officers quotas for fining drivers.

Thames Valley Police have extended their fixed penalty offence targets trial to the whole of their force area following a pilot scheme in Milton Keynes.

Senior officers say the policy has been a success in reducing road deaths and it could now be tried nationally.

But the AA has expressed concern at compulsory targets to catch drivers which will concentrate police resources on minor infringements.

The Thames Valley quotas scheme includes seatbelt violations and invalid tax discs.

Quotas 'modest'

It is common practice in most forces for chief constables to set priorities for officers by framing crime reduction targets.

But a spokesman for Thames Valley Police said quotas per officer are modest and that efforts have been concentrated in accident blackspots.

The force points to a 7% reduction in numbers of people killed and injured on the roads since the quotas were introduced.

Both the AA and RAC also voiced concerns earlier in the year after a government consultation paper suggested automatic bans for drivers exceeding 85mph on the motorway.

The paper also indicated that motorists should be penalised for driving at 71mph, only one mile faster than the national limit.

Motoring groups pointed to the fact that most drivers occasionally exceed 85mph, leading them to condemn the proposed measures as "draconian and totalitarian".