http://www.thisisthelakedistrict.co.uk/ ... e_risk.php
Speeding drivers run a double risk
By Caroline Beamish
SPEEDING motorists could now face a double penalty after plans to position two road safety cameras close together on roads throughout Cumbria were revealed this week.
Members of the Cumbria Safety Cameras team are hoping the new tactic will counteract the recognised problem of motorists quickly speeding up after passing a camera.
News of the sting, which is expected to be brought into play early in the New Year, came as the death toll on the county's roads looked set to exceed that of 2000 the worst year for five years with 55 fatalities.
It is hoped it will reduce the number of drivers who speed up after passing the camera vans as well as increasing the deterrent effect of speed cameras in the longer term.
The distance between each set of cameras will depend entirely on the road itself, although it will fall between a range of between 300 and 500 metres apart.
Roads likely to be targeted in South Lakeland include the A590 between Barrow and the M6, the A6 and roads in the Kendal area.
But according to Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed Campaign, two cameras represent a double hazard for motorists who will be more likely to have an accident immediately after passing them.
"It turns out there have been a series of crashes as frustrated and annoyed drivers leave a zone of speed enforcement," said Mr Smith, who has conducted more than 7,500 hours of research into the effects of speed camera policy on UK road safety.
"We have been trying to monitor these so called race away' crashes for some time.
"This is one of a series of dangerous speed camera side effects, none of which have been properly investigated. "
But Jan Sjorup, data analyst for Cumbria Safety Cameras, denied the notion that double cameras will increase the likelihood of accidents.
"There is a possibility that drivers could face two penalties if they are caught exceeding the speed limit by both sets of cameras.
"But the cameras only serve to reduce speed and therefore the number of accidents.
"If drivers observe the speed limit and drive according to the conditions of the road itself, they are less likely to have an accident.
"Placing two cameras on the same road will act as a bigger deterrent and will encourage motorists to drive at the correct speed all the way down a road, not just as they pass the camera."
8:21am Friday 31st December 2004
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