Safe Speed Forums

http://www.blackpooltoday.co.uk/ViewArt ... eID=887624

'Speed traps failing to cut accidents on road'

BLACKPOOL'S speed cameras are failing to cut the number of accidents, a damning report has said.

Crash figures at 11 of the resort's 50 camera sites have risen in the last 12 months and most cameras are in areas where speeding is not a problem.
That is the conclusion of a report into the roadside traps which claims safety chiefs have been "selective" in deciding which Government guidelines to follow when deciding their location.
Coun Mary Smith, who helped compile the report, said: "We have to be honest and some people are not going to like it. The number of accidents at some speed cameras has risen ? and that is fact."
The report, drafted following an in-depth scrutiny of camera locations in Blackpool by a council committee, calls for a review of all fixed camera sites in Blackpool.
Coun Smith, chairman of the committee, said: "We promised an open and transparent scrutiny and that is what we have done. We can only make recommendations ? we cannot force the powers-that-be to make changes but they have to contend with public opinion.
"Where the number of accidents have risen, I don't think we can make them take the cameras out ? and I don't think they have any intention to do so ? but there are other
options.
"A lot of the accidents are caused by carelessness. Many of them have nothing to do with speed."
The report was commissioned by the council after Blackpool was dubbed the speed camera capital of Lancashire because it has more Gatsos than the county rest of the country.
The initial findings of the review will be reported to councillors and the public for the next week.
The report says:
? Speed cameras are in locations where there is a history of accidents ? but the vast
majority of those were NOT speed-related
? There has been a reduction in the number of casualties but there is NO hard evidence to link this reduction to the introduction of speed cameras
? More "credible" and "user friendly" ways of tackling speed should be used such as vehicle-activated signs.
A copy of the report, which also confirms the council's belief that cameras are not used as revenue generating devices, has been passed to John Davies, project manager of the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety.
He said:"There has been a reduction in the number of casualties in Blackpool and this is down to a number of road safety measures we have put into place over the last few years.
"We have never claimed cameras are the sole reason for this reduction, but they do play a part in changing driver behaviour."
12 November 2004
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The truth will out.

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

Unlike the Leicester Greed Camera mob!

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Speed camera policy Kills

Anyone visiting Blackpool by road will be greeted by signs proclaiming:

"In Blackpool, We're 30mph Or Less! There's No Need For Speed"

Regardless of their quality or level of development, the speed limit on all roads within the borough has been reduced to 30 mph or less, including the A583 dual carriageway approach from the M55, which is a high standard outer-suburban road that really should be a 40.

(The only exception to this is Yeadon Way - the converted railway line that leads straight from the M55 to the South Shore car parks).

See here for a detailed discussion of this.

Although admittedly the borough boundaries are drawn tightly around the built-up area, this still seems to me an extremely ignorant and irresponsible policy.

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"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

A bit more in tonights paper (the web site is not updated with Saturdays edition, so no link).

It identifies the 11 cameras and gives a table with with 'Accidents per annum' before and after cameras.

site - Before - After - Rough idea of location
1 - 4.3 - 5.3
2 - 4.0 - 5.1 - A583 - used to be 40mph -now 30mph
3 - 0.7 - 1.7 - A583 - used to be 40mph -now 30mph
4 - 4.7 - 6.0
5 - 4.7 - 6.0 - Stanly Park / Zoo area
6 - 4.3 - 4.8
7 - 4.3 - 5.0 - Prom - near Imperial hotel
8 - 3.7 - 4.0
9 - 1.3 - 2.0 - Prom - outside Pleasure Beach
10 - 3.7 - 4.0
11 - 3.7 - 4.0

the only actual mention of number of injuries is for site 5 which has gone from average of 6 casualities to 13 (site 3 has a similar percentage increase)

Russ

"A lot of the accidents are caused by carelessness. Many of them have nothing to do with speed."

Nothing to do with speed yet they still are determined to target speed!

More "credible" and "user friendly" ways of tackling speed should be used such as vehicle-activated signs.

Andrew[/quote]

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It's a scam........or possibly a scamola


Homer Simpson

Even though the accidents are nothing to do with speed:




They still target speed:




Andrew

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It's a scam........or possibly a scamola


Homer Simpson