With so many people still dying or being injured on Wiltshire’s roads surely we need to be reconsidering using whatever is at our disposal to improve safety?

A concrete, and relatively simple, first step would be to turn on the county’s fixed speed cameras – and dare I say get a few more installed.

Wiltshire is one of only four forces in the country that does not have cameras, relying instead on mobile vans and police officers' handheld counterparts, having shut off the fixed cameras back in 2010.

In 2022 29 people were killed on Wiltshire roads and a further 21 lost their lives in 2023.

Talking about the issue last year, chief supt Phil Staynings said ‘a single death on our roads is one too many and it is really important that we don’t look at these numbers as just a statistic’.

But when you do couple those numbers with the scores of people seriously hurt, some with life-changing or life-limiting injuries, surely even on a statistical level alone, we should be demanding more is to be done?

Not only is there the emotional turmoil of lives being ripped apart but there's also the cost to our ever more strained public bodies.

Surely there can be no argument for not putting in place anything at our disposal to give that slightest improvement on people’s chances on our county’s roads?

While of course, we cannot attribute every death to a case of speeding, it will have been a factor in a large number of them.

And the technology will have an impact on all drivers, not just those flouting the speed limits.

Speed cameras can give a consistent and impartial enforcement of what is required while behind the wheel.

Toughening people’s mentality on what exacting standards are required on the road is not something we should ignore as an option when so many people’s lives are being ruined on an almost weekly basis.

If people were dying in such large numbers in any other circumstances, there would be institutional changes to make sure it becomes a rarity, not just an unfortunate acceptance of modern daily life, that there's a good chance someone will die today while travelling in a vehicle.

And with fewer resources at the disposal of authorities such as the council and the police, surely cash generated from irresponsible drivers and plugging it back into road safety initiatives is the right move?

Speed cameras could be a vital tool in the ongoing quest to make our roads safer and more secure for everyone and should not be overlooked.