Speed camera axe 'doesn't increase accidents' (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Speed camera axe 'doesn't increase accidents'
9:00am Wednesday 8th December 2010 in News By Anika Bourley
A speed camera in Queen’s Drive before they were scrapped
SWINDON has proved that removing speed cameras does not increase the number of accidents on roads, the Government has said.
Roads Safety minister Mike Penning has come under fire from Labour MPs for ending funding for speed cameras without first making no assessment of the impact it could have.
Mr Penning said while no assessment had been carried out, road safety was paramount for the Government.
He gave the town, which turned off speed cameras in 2009, as the example backing up his claims the number of accidents did not increase if there are no cameras, when speaking to MPs.
“The truth of the matter is that some speed cameras do fantastic work, and some do not,” he said.
“In local authority areas such as Swindon, where speed cameras have been stopped altogether, there has been no indication of an increase in accidents since they have gone.
“It is for local authorities to decide, and we will work with them, but the public must be with them when it comes to speed cameras.
“The public must, whatever happens, be confident that speed cameras are there for the right reason.”
In October fixed speed cameras and mobile speed cameras were switched off for the final time across Wiltshire.
The new Government argues speed cameras are often seen as merely a cash cow and it was up to local authorities to decide how they wanted to enforce road safety measures. Mr Penning added: “The Coalition Government is committed to further improving road safety but it is right that local councils decide how best to tackle specific problems in their areas.
“We ended central government funding for new fixed speed cameras because we don’t believe we should dictate to councils that they use them as the default solution in reducing accidents.
“It is not true however that the Government has cut all funding for road safety.
“Rather we have removed ring-fencing from local authority grants so that councils are able to set their own priorities.
“We would expect that road safety would remain a priority for local communities and that local spending would reflect that.”
Labour’s shadow transport minister Andrew Gwynne criticised the Government policy citing RAC research which shows speed cameras save 70 lives a year.
Comments(18)
nobody
says...
9:38am Wed 8 Dec 10
ItsPavAgain
says...
9:43am Wed 8 Dec 10
Gooey
says...
9:55am Wed 8 Dec 10
nobody wrote:Yep.I've noticed that.Morons weaving from lane to lane at speed
May not be any more accidents but cars are driving along Queens Drive well in excess of 40mph now.
Itssomewheretowork
says...
10:18am Wed 8 Dec 10
There has been an increase in speeding cars but many of those have blue flashing lights and sirens going as they speed from the police station into town. Now that was a smart move.... moving from the centre of the action to almost a rural setting.
Captain Sensible
says...
10:56am Wed 8 Dec 10
VotingFloaterUK
says...
11:49am Wed 8 Dec 10
nobody wrote:Turn that sentence and you might just discover something...
May not be any more accidents but cars are driving along Queens Drive well in excess of 40mph now.
The Real Librarian
says...
12:15pm Wed 8 Dec 10
nobody wrote:How odd. Maybe the speed limit is wrong.
May not be any more accidents but cars are driving along Queens Drive well in excess of 40mph now.
rmc001
says...
12:22pm Wed 8 Dec 10
Itssomewheretowork wrote:Probably because they thought it was a good idea to have the station between one of the worst roads in the county (A420) and the worst roundabout in Swindon (White Heart). That way they would be able to get to the resulting accidents faster.
There have been no accidents where the two cameras opposite each other in Oxford road have been turned off and there were no accidents before they were installed. There has been an increase in speeding cars but many of those have blue flashing lights and sirens going as they speed from the police station into town. Now that was a smart move.... moving from the centre of the action to almost a rural setting.
politicrat
says...
1:29pm Wed 8 Dec 10
Good road surfacing, and markings and signals, common sense layout and especially traffic lights in the right places, less road works.....
Ban all cars that do not have at least 4 euro ncap points
Make all drivers take a re-test every 10 years
forget about the points system and replace it with automatic ban from
3 months to 10 years depending on the offense
Speed camera have never saved lives and never will!!!!
Mr Blackwell
says...
3:37pm Wed 8 Dec 10
nobody wrote:And yet there's been no increase in the accident rate (I wouldn't mind betting it's actually decreased).
May not be any more accidents but cars are driving along Queens Drive well in excess of 40mph now.
.
What a surprise.
.
Maybe once people have woken up to the whole 'Speed Kills' propaganda we might actually start talking about, and implementing, proper road safety initiatives that might actually prevent some accidents.
I Too
says...
5:44pm Wed 8 Dec 10
john c
says...
7:47pm Wed 8 Dec 10
what saves lives?
Good road surfacing, and markings and signals, common sense layout and especially traffic lights in the right places, less road works.....Agreed.
Ban all cars that do not have at least 4 euro ncap points…. If the ban was on the sale of new cars I would Agree.
Make all drivers take a re-test every 10 years…… Agreed
forget about the points system and replace it with automatic ban from
3 months to 10 years depending on the offense…. Needs more thought, A 3 month ban for no water in your washer bottle?
Speed camera have never saved lives and never will!!!!Agreed.
rmc001
says...
12:25pm Thu 9 Dec 10
john c wrote:Interesting - I never knew you could get a fine and penalty points for an empty windscreen wash reservior! Worth remembering next time I borrow the company pool car!
politicrat, Raises some valid points,
what saves lives?
Good road surfacing, and markings and signals, common sense layout and especially traffic lights in the right places, less road works.....Agreed.
Ban all cars that do not have at least 4 euro ncap points…. If the ban was on the sale of new cars I would Agree.
Make all drivers take a re-test every 10 years…… Agreed
forget about the points system and replace it with automatic ban from
3 months to 10 years depending on the offense…. Needs more thought, A 3 month ban for no water in your washer bottle?
Speed camera have never saved lives and never will!!!!Agreed.
reality_check
says...
10:01pm Thu 9 Dec 10
nobody wrote:Does this matter?
May not be any more accidents but cars are driving along Queens Drive well in excess of 40mph now.
john c
says...
4:36am Fri 10 Dec 10
rmc001 wrote:Endorsement code CU20 Using a vehicle with defective parts or accessories
john c wrote: politicrat, Raises some valid points, what saves lives? Good road surfacing, and markings and signals, common sense layout and especially traffic lights in the right places, less road works.....Agreed. Ban all cars that do not have at least 4 euro ncap points…. If the ban was on the sale of new cars I would Agree. Make all drivers take a re-test every 10 years…… Agreed forget about the points system and replace it with automatic ban from 3 months to 10 years depending on the offense…. Needs more thought, A 3 month ban for no water in your washer bottle? Speed camera have never saved lives and never will!!!!Agreed.Interesting - I never knew you could get a fine and penalty points for an empty windscreen wash reservior! Worth remembering next time I borrow the company pool car!
Mr Blackwell
says...
2:08pm Fri 10 Dec 10
reality_check wrote:Exactly. For some, this isn't about accidents or injury, it's simply about forcing others to do what they think is right/best.
nobody wrote: May not be any more accidents but cars are driving along Queens Drive well in excess of 40mph now.Does this matter?
.
I would rather everyone drives around town at 50mph everywhere and never crashes than everyone drives at 29mph and there's one crash per year. Sadly, some people don't see it that way.
Mr Blackwell
says...
2:11pm Fri 10 Dec 10
maninthewest says...
9:09am Wed 8 Dec 10