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Speed camera decision will be scrutinised (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Speed camera decision will be scrutinised
10:00am Friday 24th October 2008
SWINDON Council scrutiny committee chairman Kevin Small says councillors will ‘feel the full responsibility’ of the mammoth decision to scrap fixed speed cameras from the town.
Although the unanimous decision by Swindon councillors was made on Wednesday night, the final decision will be made on Monday.
The scrutiny committee will meet at the council’s civic offices to sift through the facts in order to make the final decision about whether to give the proposal the green light or not.
They can then choose to agree to the proposal, send it back to cabinet to be reworked or defer it for further consideration.
Councillor Small, pictured, (Lab, Western) said the committee must closely examine the evidence on both sides of the argument before reaching a decision.
“The responsibility of scrutiny is to make sure the decision that has been made has been made properly, whether the cabinet has taken all the facts into consideration and whether it reflects the needs and benefits the people of Swindon. It is an immensely big decision to make when considering the lives of people in Swindon,” he said.
“The evidence clearly suggests that speed cameras have reduced accidents on our roads.
“Most of us would say they are a necessary evil because, as motorists, we don’t like to see them but they are put there for a very good reason.”
There are more than 6,000 speed cameras in the UK with two million tickets dished out every year.
Coun Small said he realised that the people of Swindon were split over whether or not to remove speed cameras and would be looking to the scrutiny committee to make the right decision.
He added: “I sympathise with those who say we’ll have blood on our hands if it goes through but we must look at the facts.”
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Your Say YourSwindon
Always Grumpy, Swindon says...
12:00pm Fri 24 Oct 08
As Bobfm said - resign.
All this rhetoric about lives being put in danger is rubbish and anybody with one iota of intelligence knows it. Well, that counts most of Labour out then.
The speed cameras in Swindon have not and will not save any lives.
sn5, swindon says...
12:10pm Fri 24 Oct 08
this decision looks like it will go through
as for BFM's idea he should resign, would he really do this as he would lose money & might have to get a proper job...
Bobfm, South Marston says...
12:17pm Fri 24 Oct 08
We do not here one word of apology for servicemen like my son's life being put at risk because of shoddy on the cheap maintenance of his submarine.
How dare Wills and co deny what every road safety expert knows and that is cameras do not save lives, and are not an effective deterrent either, as the Road Safety laboratory themselves have said. If these cameras were placed at accident black spots in Swindon Mr Wills, lets have the statistics for them all. I personally checked on the ones in Oxford Road and according to the Department of Transport, in the three years prior to there erection there had been an average of 0.5 of an accident in each year. No where near the Governments own guidelines justifying a camera on safety grounds.
BWB, SWINDON says...
12:20pm Fri 24 Oct 08
I totally agree with the comments above. Councillor Small was always carried along by his father,
(Kieth now deceased).Councillor Small has always been a yes man to his Labour Masters,and always will be.In fact he has no mind of his own
He should stick to being a football ref In mannington park.
WBAde, wb says...
2:37pm Fri 24 Oct 08
Any Quality Manager will tell you if they only looked at the 6% causes of failure in their factories/processes they would be out of a job in a week!!
You always tackle the biggest cause first...unfortunatel
y a camera will not pick up poor/dangerous/drunk
/drugged/uninsured drivers.
If you want to rake in money then a camera will do that. However the fact that millions of drivers exceed the speed limit (by varying degrees) shows that speed in itself is not dangerous...it is the inappropriate use of excess speed that is.
Why is it so difficult to understand? Obviously if you have the herd mentality you will go along with "speed kills" but if you can analyse and draw your own conclusions you may think differently....
malkym1, Highworth on the Hill says...
2:57pm Fri 24 Oct 08
The evidence clearly suggests that speed cameras have reduced accidents on our roads.
He added: “I sympathise with those who say we’ll have blood on our hands if it goes through but we must look at the facts.”
Yes Coun. Small you MUST INDEED! look at the facts because from the rhetoric written here it seems you might have already made up your mind! It is to be hoped that the scrutiny committee is composed of sensible balanced people who will arrive at a decision based on THE FACTS! rather than just following the views of local MP's and toeing the party line!
Worz, Wootton Bassett says...
3:08pm Fri 24 Oct 08
So why does Councilor Small have until Monday night to try and change the other councilors' decission?
Bobfm, South Marston says...
4:19pm Fri 24 Oct 08
I Too, Swindon says...
5:38pm Fri 24 Oct 08
From what I've heard, from a work colleague, he's not particularly great at that either
Security word - "type-huge"? ha ha ha ha ha
SpeakUp, Swindon says...
7:21pm Fri 24 Oct 08
Quit now, Kevin. You've made your continuing in office intolerable.
amlorusso, Swindon says...
1:42am Sat 25 Oct 08
There shouldn't be another team in the council overriding council votes, it would be like parliament voting to enact a bill and then a commons select committee overule the vote a couple of days later.
There is a place for scrutinisation within an organisation (the common select committees and the house of lords are excellent examples) but they shouldn't get to tell the primaries what to do.
ourtone, says...
6:38am Sat 25 Oct 08
So often you get someone who is genuinely good at what they do. They use their talent and ablility to build up a reputation and make genuine achievements.
In their wake often comes a son (although rarely a daughter.) This son isn't even a tenth as good as his old man. He hasn't got the same talents as his old man.
He might have the ability to achieve something in a different field, but he hasn't got the courage for that. Instead of striking out and doing something new, he just rides his dad's coat tails, getting some benefit from his name and the charity of people who respected his father.
Sadly the fathers, however great they may have been in their own field, have a blind spot for these weak and underachieving sons. Instead of forcing them to strike out on their own, they support them, use their influence for them, and help them get a job at the old family firm.
These inadequate people usually get found out in the end, when Daddy is no longer around to protect them. People usually realise what small people they are, with small talent, small personality and small character. In the end, these small people have to be got rid of, for the good of the organisation. Small wonder.
Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Bobfm, South Marston says...
6:31pm Sun 26 Oct 08
Perhaps Anne or Michael should have a word in his 'shell like', they are doing badly enough nationally without this local pressure.
ourtone, says...
12:27pm Mon 27 Oct 08
6:31pm Sun 26 Oct 08
Excellent post ourtone. So I guess it just remains for the Advertiser to print Small's resignation then. After all we are told by Gordon that Labour are the listening party.
Perhaps Anne or Michael should have a word in his 'shell like', they are doing badly enough nationally without this local pressure."
Ah, but Labour no longer care about the opinions of the UK public. How else do you explain the re-re-reappearence of Lord Peter Mandleson, one of the murkiest and discredited people in a murky and discredited government.
The simple fact is Bob, Labour have also given up on winning the 2010 election. Not unreasonable with their record, you might think.
The only way to get Labour to notice or listen to you would appear to be if you make regular or substantial donations into party funds or be able to offer ex ministers a job after 2010.
Your sayYour Swindon
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Bobfm, South Marston says...
11:41am Fri 24 Oct 08
He should be censured by the council and forced to stand down.