Safe Speed Forums

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/ ... _cop_.html

Thursday, 21st October 2004
Speed-trap cameras stupid, says ex-top cop
Dean Kirby

ONE of Greater Manchester's top former traffic policemen has branded the use of speed cameras on the region's roads as "stupid".

Former chief inspector Neil Longsden, who was second in command of Greater Manchester Police motorway group, hit out at the way cameras are used to raise revenue rather than to improve safety.

He said: "When fixed speed cameras were introduced I thought they were a good idea because they were positioned at accident hotspots. But now the situation is becoming stupid.

"With more than 20 years as a traffic inspector and chief inspector, I always thought that, when decisions were made to prosecute motorists, the police had to prove the offence beyond all reasonable doubt - and that they also had to use a certain amount of discretion and commonsense.

"Now I believe those basic principles are being ignored in pursuit of revenue."

He added: "I am not in favour of speeding, but I am in favour of cameras being sited properly based on proper accident statistics and for using mobile cameras instead of fixed ones where possible."

He said the way police accident figures were calculated had changed in recent years, which must mean the way decisions are made about where to site fixed speed cameras must be "skewed."

He believes more mobile speed guns should be used because some fixed cameras may not be useful as road-safety tools.

Mr Longsden, who was a police officer for nearly 35 years and a traffic officer for more than 20 years before his retirement in 1995, spoke out after speeding tickets were issued to more than 20 drivers caught driving at 10 mph over the limit near Oldham.

The camera on the A663 Broadway, near the junction with Eustace Street, had apparently been reset from 40 mph to 30 mph before roadworks began but the drivers say the change was not properly sign-posted.

More than 20 drivers who were issued with fixed penalty fines after being caught driving at 40 mph are joining together to fight their prosecutions.

They say they are determined to take their battle to court instead of paying immediate fixed penalty fines.

Mr Longsden said: "This particular camera on Broadway, for example, may have been needed when it was put there many years ago, but it is very close to a pedestrian crossing and might not even be necessary now."

A spokesman for DriveSafe, responsible for the region's 185 speed camera sites, said they are reviewed every year by the Department for Transport.

======================

Follow link below original story for a comment opportunity. (I haven't reproduced the link here because it'll probably expire soon.)

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Ex-Chief Inspector hardly signifies "Top Cop" status does it?

I think his views are all a little out of touch, consider "When fixed speed cameras were introduced I thought they were a good idea because they were positioned at accident hotspots. But now the situation is becoming stupid. "
Cameras installed by Safety Camera Partnerships should be sited in locations with an accident history or has this now been changed?
Enjoy your retirement Mr. ex-Top Cop and keep your out of touch remarks where they belong down at the bowling club and out of the newspapers.

_________________
It's Champion Man

No freedom of speech for you then.....you should join Transport2000, or maybe you already have..

_________________
Speed camera policy Kills

This rule is a joke, because if someone reverses into a car coming out of their driveway, the partnership are allowed to place a camera on an unconnected dual carriageway as long as it is with a certain number of miles of the accident.



Pure personal abuse, there is nothing to back up that remark.

I would have thought a Chief Inspector in the traffic division would have a lot of relevant knowledge and experience.

Certainly more than a civilian drone working for a Scamera pratnership.


Oh yes, at least 3 probably non-speed related accidents within a five-mile radius, or some such nonsense.

Are they placed within 200 yards of genuine blackspots for accidents that can be attributed to excess speed above the posted limit?

If not, how can they have an impact on the accident rate at such blackspots?

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed