Safe Speed Forums

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffa ... 43,00.html

Freeze placed on new speed cameras

David Fickling and agencies
Friday July 15, 2005

The government has announced a freeze on setting up new speed cameras, it was announced today.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said that no applications for new speed camera sites would be approved until an annual review of the programme had been completed.

Last year's review found that speed cameras resulted in a 40% reduction in deaths and serious injuries, equivalent to 870 fewer people killed or seriously injured each year.

Crashes were also 33% less common at camera sites, equivalent to 4,030 fewer collisions nationwide.

But the department said it needed to assess the results of this year's study, being conducted by University College London, before installing more cameras.

"There's a lot more data now from the camera sites and we want to be sure that we have a much clearer picture of things before we proceed," a spokesman said.

The study had been due in June, but at present the department is unsure when it will be ready.

Road safety campaigners said that the halt risked lives. "We should be doing absolutely everything we can to tackle speeding," said Jools Townsend, spokeswoman for road safety charity Brake.

"If we are held back on placing speed cameras in communities where they are desperately needed then it's going to be costing lives," she said.

But the decision was welcomed by anti-speed camera campaigners.

Paul Smith, founder of Safe Speed, said: "Now we know the true reason why road deaths fell last year. The government got cold feet with their dangerous speed camera programme, put on the brakes and saved some lives.

"Speed cameras are a dangerous distraction to drivers, police and local authorities alike. In almost every case there's something else that's more important to road safety than strict speed limit compliance."

The group also welcomed DfT figures showing that the growth of speed cameras had been "strongly curtailed" in 2004.

Safe Speed said that while the number of fixed and mobile sites between 2002 and 2003 grew by 33%, the growth was under 1% for 2003 to 2004.

The AA last month published maps for the first time showing the location of speed cameras, and since 2002 the government has painted cameras yellow to alert motorists to their presence, a policy which safety campaigners say may make them less likely to avert accidents.

Speed camera partnerships still have the right to increase or decrease their number of speed cameras by up to 15% without approval from central government.

(not sure if this is in the Paper, or just the web site...)

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Paul Smith
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The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety