http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/36484.html
Speeding blitz fails to curb death on the roads
LUCY ADAMS, Home Affairs Correspondent April 01 2005
SPEEDING motorists now account for nearly one-fifth of crimes dealt with by police after a 57% increase in the number of tickets issued.
The rising use of speed cameras and police blitzes aimed at making Scotland's roads safer resulted in drivers paying around £10m in tickets during 2003, according to statistics released yesterday.
But despite the significant jump in the number of motorists caught speeding, 331 people were killed in road accidents that year – a 9% annual increase.
The Scottish Executive figures revealed that the number of tickets issued increased from 104,797 in 2002 to 165,013 the following year. The total number of motor vehicle offences recorded in 2003 was 409,493, an annual rise of 20%.
Speeding convictions in-creased by 25% during the same period – from 9636 to 12,034 in 2003.
Isobel Brydie, chairwoman of the Scottish Campaign against Irresponsible Drivers, said police crackdowns and speed cameras were having a real impact.
"Speed limits are there to save lives. We have to get the message across that saving five minutes on a journey is not worth risking taking a life.
"There are 300 people alive today who will not be alive this time next year purely because of drivers driving at excess speed."
In addition to speeding tickets, motorists also paid £10.5m in court fines, despite a 20% decrease in the number of people convicted of driving under the influence of drink or drugs.
Of those caught speeding, 79% were detected by cameras – compared to just 13% a decade ago.
A spokeswoman for the executive said: "Speeding is both a criminal offence and a contributing factor in many road accidents. The increase in convictions reflects the roll out of the safety camera programme – an evidence-based scheme which aims to reduce the number of people killed or injured on Scotland's roads by ensuring that motorists are aware of the dangers of excessive and inappropriate speeds."
The figures also show driving offences result in a far greater proportion of overall crime than they did a decade ago. In 2003, they represented 41% of the total – compared with about one-third in 1994.
The report also recorded a small annual decrease in the number of convictions for driving while disqualified, seat belt offences and careless driving. However, road fatalities rose year-on-year from 304 to 331 in 2003.
The statistics showed that the number of licensed vehicles in Scotland increased by almost a quarter between 1994 and 2003, when it reached 2.4m.
Motoring organisations accused police of victimising drivers and warned that growing numbers of people were frustrated with the high usage of speed cameras and lack of reinvestment in roads.
Neil Greg, the AA's head of policy in Scotland, said: "The problem with all these fines is that there is no real obvious benefits to motorists. Most of it goes back to Gordon Brown or gets spent on the cost of the cameras. We don't condone speeding but believe there is a problem with the public image of the speed camera.
"Drivers see them being used as a means to make money rather than for safety. Policing is becoming more and more remote from drivers because the vast majority of offences are handled by post. People are worried about road rage and careless driving and want these issues to be dealt with properly."
Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign, added: "Clearly the massive increase in speed enforcement has not driven down road deaths. And if it doesn't save lives what good is it? The greedy camera partnerships must be disbanded and we must get back to the principles that gave us the safest roads in the world in the first place.
"Driving safety is not about 'sticking to the speed limit'. It's about far more sophisticated driver behaviours based on skills, attitudes and responsibilities. The overemphasis on speed limit compliance is a road safety red herring, and a serious distraction from the things that really matter."
Officials with the executive said that a three-year evaluation of the safety camera programme published in June revealed there was a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured at camera sites, a 33% reduction in the number of personal injury collisions and a 35% reduction in the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured at camera sites.