Safe Speed Forums

Speed camera vote 'a week away'

Councillors hoping to remove speed cameras from a Wiltshire town say the move could be agreed on next week.

Swindon Borough Council wants to pull out of the Safety Camera Partnership which would mean the end of standing and mobile speed cameras in the town.

The move would mean the town could become the first in England to stop using speed cameras.

Councillor Peter Greenhalgh said he expected the recommendation to be rubber-stamped on 22 October.

'Reduce accidents'

"The recommendation is for the council to give notice to withdraw from the partnership from April," said councillor Greenhalgh.

"It is in line with a Department for Transport report published on the 25th of September which said speed is only reponsible for six percent of accidents," he said.

The authority said it spends £320,000 per year on funding speed cameras in the town.

Speaking in July 2008, council leader Roderick Bluh said the government's own statistics showed the cameras were not the most effective way to cut accidents.

The council decided to review its involvement in the local safety camera partnership scheme following a change in speed camera funding rules, which mean the Treasury keeps proceeds of fines and then makes road-safety grants to councils.

The council said the money spent on cameras could be spent on local safety measures instead.

"Swindon is being pro-active in looking at the cause of accidents and how we can improve road safety," said Peter Greenhalgh.

"We commissioned the transport research laboratory to carry out an independent report into the cause of accidents and we will act on the recommendations," he said.

"We will focus on education and targeting those road users who are most at risk like young people and motorcyclists as well as installing more vehicle-activated signs and improving junction design and street lighting," said councillor Greenhalgh.

We will focus on education and targeting those road users who are most at risk like young people and motorcyclists as well as installing more vehicle-activated signs and improving junction design and street lighting

Speed cameras go from town centre

Swindon's council has voted to press ahead with plans to pull out of the town's safety camera partnership and restructure road safety.

The cameras will go from June and be replaced with vehicle-activated signs.

The focus would then be on education with road safety lessons given to children, said a council spokesman.

Recent Department for Transport figures showed it received an income of more than £100m from speed cameras around the country.

The revenue from camera fines goes to the government which allocates cash to councils for road safety on the basis of accident statistics.

In October 2008, councillors in Swindon said new measures were needed as road deaths and injuries had begun to rise, although police said the cameras had helped to cut accidents.

On Wednesday the council ratified its view that the £320,000 it formerly put into the partnership would be better spent on other safety measures like warning signs and street lighting.

Vehicle-activated signs flash a warning to drivers if they exceed the speed limit while passing.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: "We will not compromise on public safety or our drive to help make Wiltshire the safest county in the country.

"We remain committed to the use of a variety of casualty reduction methods, including cameras, in speed enforcement."