President Zapatero announced yesterday that the government will be setting up a National Centre for the Rapid Treatment of Fines in his native León that will deal with traffic offences caught on radar or cctv cameras.

The centre will become operational before the end of the year, as will new measures aimed at controlling speeding as well as drivers' reactions to traffic signals and Give Way signs.

It is believed that in the first place, traffic offences generated on the M-30 Madrid ring-road will be the first to be handled by the new centre, which will not necessitate any police intervention at all.

Mr Zapatero also stated that the centre will be built at a cost of 45 million euros, will employ 120 people working in shifts, and during the first 18 months of operations is expected to deal with around six million fines a year.

He also explained that such systems are already in use in the UK, Holland and France, where they have considerably cut down on both the number of road accidents and fatalities.