Safe Speed Forums

comment: This is one of the things I suspected would happen - because the money is ring-fenced for road safety the councils can think of plenty of tangible results of spending the money.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

Council cuts speed camera budget because they are now 'more about making money than saving lives'

A council has slashed its funding for speed cameras after claiming they had become more about making money than saving lives.

North Somerset Council has cut a third of its £300,000 contribution to the West of England Road Safety Partnership, after complaining the group had lost sight of its original purpose.

It also blamed the Government for taking money generated by fines to swell central coffers, rather than ploughing it back into local safety schemes.

Councillors now want to spend their budget on other road projects, and have even threatened to cut all funding for speed cameras.

North Somerset councillor Elfan Ap Rees, who is responsible for transport, insisted the cash could be better spent in other areas.

He said: "Motorists have wised up to where the cameras are and slow down and then speed up again. The Government has also changed the rules.

"What used to happen was all the money brought in from fines was passed straight to the local authority and the road partnership.

"But it now goes to the Treasury which creams some off the top, so it is a money-making exercise."

The announcement has been condemned by the local road safety partnership, which says lives will be put at risk and that it could lead to more irresponsible driving on the region's roads.

Spokesman David Gollicker said: "The vast majority of residents agree that cameras play a vital role in cutting speeds and casualties.

"This move is bound to lead to a reduction in camera enforcement in North Somerset, which I believe will put lives at risk."

Speed cameras have been repeatedly attacked in the area by angry drivers. The partnership admitted earlier this year it had even installed CCTV to spy on a speed camera, after it was twice targeted by vandals.

Councillor Ap Rees warned that other councils could follow their lead and begin switching the focus of road safety strategies away from speed cameras.

Safe Speed issued the following PR at 13:28 this afternoon:

PR543: Speed camera demise accelerates with Somerset budget cut

news: for immediate release

The ultimate demise of the failed speed camera programme accelerated today as
the Mail on Sunday revealed a large budget cut in North Somerset.

Paul Smith, founder of SafeSpeed.org.uk, said: "The speed camera programme has
failed to improve road safety. No amount of twisted statistics can hide the
facts."

"Department for Transport must tell the truth, admit their mistakes and pull
the plug on the failed speed camera programme once and for all."

"We won't get road safety back on track while a single speed camera remains on
British roads. They have distracted everyone from far more important and far
more effective road safety policy devices. The negative side effects have done
great and lasting damage to British road safety."

"The end of speed cameras in now absolutely inevitable. The road safety results
are in and they are terrible. Let's get it over with and scrap the damnable
things right now."

<ends>

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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

whooohooo -

the first rain before the flood - this is a major advance in the campaign.

They can agree on whatever they want. The stats say different. Another example of consensus and truth being presented as the same thing.

This is absolutely inevitable.

We can all see ‘inappropriate’ driving standards, but we are told that the only effective weapon in the Road Safety arsenal is the Speed Camera. If the DfT fail to recognise any other way to improve the standard, how is the average punter supposed to think of alternatives?

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It's tricky doing nothing - you never know when you're finished

Mate, if your surveys are anything like as biased as your statistics regarding effectiveness of your cameras, statistics that conveniently neglect the effect of RTTM and 'bias on selection', then I think we can treat your statement with the contempt it deserves

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

What makes you think he did a survey? He probably just has a 'theory' that this is what they would say if asked.

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It's tricky doing nothing - you never know when you're finished

I wouldn't put it past them, especially given the fact they still spout the same RTTM drivel even though the likes of Paul have been widely publicising that fallacy for a fair few years now. How sad is that?

There is a problem in the village where I Iive with rat running drivers who speed and also drive at inappropriate speeds within the 30mph limit.

A recent meeting attracted over 100 people and the problem was discussed. There was almost a riot! The support for cameras, mobile and fixed, as well as other traffic calming methods was overwhelming. Reps from the Police, SCP and local authority were left in no doubt as to how sick and tired ordinary members of the public are of dangerous speeds in the village and I can see residents taking the law into their own hands if something is not done to stop these idiots.

I would therefore imagine that David Gollicker is spot on in his assertion of support for cameras. In fact every driver I know thinks those who get caught speeding are quite stupid.

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GROOVE ARM

Unfortunately, the majority of surveys done on speeders within a specific area seem to have revealed that the majority actually live in the area surveyed. Like 20mph limit areas, most of the speeders live in it.Cameras won't catch drivers going at an inappropriate speed unless it is also faster than the limit.
In any case, they'll show up on satnav eventually, then people just speed up when past. Limited use, limited effectiveness, and when the council leader gets caught they'll be scrapped.

Really? Do you expect us to believe that?

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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

Ask yourself why they 'rat run', then maybe you’ll begin to understand just how twisted our councils approach to road use is.


I can’t help but feel there would likely have been a level of 'bias on selection' as to the type of attendees of that meeting, especially as Reps from the Police, SCP and local authority were present.


In which case I strongly suspect you don’t know many drivers. My friends, family and colleagues (all drive) have sympathies for those caught. Even the insurance companies now turn a blind eye to it – nuff said!

Oh, I've never been done for speeding, not once in my 10 years of owning my license

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

There's an article on my website entitled Traffic is Killing Our Village! which you might find interesting.

Which village is it, by the way? This is a big forum so somebody is sure to know it personally. And what is its total population?

Has a speed survey been done, and if so, what was the result?


The attitudes towards speed cameras of every driver I have ever discussed the subject with vary from distinctly equivocal to totally opposed.

And I've had just the one speeding conviction 27 years ago in 31 years of being a qualified driver. None in the speed camera era.

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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

At what time of day does this alleged danger occur?

How do you suppose these will help stop "inappropriate speeds within the 30mph limit"?

What do you think that they might do?

How many accidents have occurred in your village? Perhaps it isn't dangerous but you just don't like any cars coming past your houses. The usual underlying reason for this type of complaint is the volume of traffic not its speed.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Good heavens, how could we have missed the fact that anyone local to a road is an automatic authority on how best to make it safest!? Who needs studies, just ask 'the locals'.

On a separate note, I am so glad you're here at last, I've been getting kinda bored!

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Simon

Slightly OT but relevant I think.

Tesco is planning to open a new store in our "village". An action committee has been set up. The question that has been asked is basically "do you want this rampaging multinational to put other local shops out of business and massively add to local congestion?". Well no, nobody would, would they. If they had asked "would you like a nice, spanking new supermarket that will provide much needed competition to the poor quality, expensive ones in the area, and save you driving 5 miles to do your weekly shop?" I suspect that the answer might have been somewhat different.

As it is, 3000 people have signed a petition, and the local MP has publicly backed the protests. 3000 people represents about 20% of the population. I've heard of people refusing to sign the petition being verbally abused.

Democracy in action. To get the answer you want, just ask a loaded question.

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Brian

The only reason councils want these supermarket giants in your area is because IMO, they are sharing the same pockets.

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.