Safe Speed Forums

Across the county accidents where someone has been seriously injured or killed have been cut by 36 per cent since the cameras were introduced, according to these new figures.

Riddle of road toll
By Matt Barlow
28 April 2005

Serious accidents have increased by more than 28 per cent on the A6 in Taddington since the introduction of a mobile speed camera.
In the 30 months before it became a regular site for police speed cameras, the area saw 14 people killed or seriously injured.

However, during the same time frame after its introduction in April 2002, this accident figure rose to 18.

But Derbyshire Police have defended the use of the cameras in their marked vans on roadsides and will continue to use the Taddington site.

Rebecca Hampson, from the Derbyshire Safety Camera Partnership which supplied the crash statistics, said: "Obviously this is a concern to the partnership and this is why the A6 Taddington to Buxton is a high priority route to us and we will be enforcing there more frequently to reduce the number of casualties.

"Our safety cameras are continuing to reduce the number of casualties. Our safety cameras are continuing to reduce casualties on camera routes across Derbyshire - since the safety sites were established we have reduced the number of people killed or seriously injured by 24 per cent."

The site at Taddington is the only regular spot used by the mobile cameras near to Buxton, but the vehicle does stop at other places in the High Peak less frequently.

A van stopped on St John's Road in Buxton last Friday and police officers invited Advertiser staff to see how the speed camera worked.

Ms Hampson explained that the safety camera partnership was jointly funded by the police, Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council, the Highways Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service.

She added: "We are making a big difference but there are still people who argue that speed cameras are a bad thing. People seem to think they should be able to speed."