Speed cameras are a favorite for lawmakers. They are low maintenance and do not require human supervision-the cameras are connected to radar detectors, snapping the shutters whenever the radar discovers a driver exceeding the posted speed limit. Their automated nature also means they are highly effective, forcing drivers to slow down and reducing crashes. Finally, the cameras also create a fairly constant revenue stream for local governments, since they can catch every speeder who flies by.

But never have speed cameras been so beneficial as in the town of Acquetico in Northwest Italy. Despite the village's minuscule population of 120 people, Acquetico experiences major issues with speeding as a result of its bisection by a major road, SS28 Nord. After several residents complained about speeding commuters, mayor Alessandro Alessandri set up a trial speed camera to confirm their concerns.

And boy, were Acquetico's residents right. In just a two week period, the speed camera, set up at the town's main pedestrian crossing, caught a whopping 58,568 speeders passing through the 31 mile per hour (50 kilometer per hour) zone. Along with the astonishing number of people speeding, the camera revealed some even more alarming statistics. Dozens of vehicles were found to be going at least 100 kph, double the speed limit, and the worst offender was recorded at 84 mph (135km/h). Nearly all of the 20 worst speeders were captured by the camera during the middle of the day. These findings are even more concerning when you take into account the town's large proportion of elderly residents.

Acquetico's speeding problem stems from the fact that the route had previously been the only way between the nearby Piedmont region and Italy's northern coast that avoided speed bumps, tolls, and speed radar. Alessandri also told of motorcyclists staging races on the road due to its "ideal asphalt, good width, [and] continuous bends." The mayor has decided to make the camera permanent to protect the residents of his village. If the rate of tickets stays even remotely close to the 58,568 they recorded in the first two weeks, Acquetico could soon become a very wealthy town. Maybe Alessandri can buy each of his residents a new McLaren 720S Spider when it debuts next month.