Safe Speed Forums

Speed cameras in Oxfordshire will begin operating again from April 1.

Thames Valley Police have taken the decision to turn on cameras and resume operating mobile speed camera sites after they were turned off on August 1 last year.

Head of roads policing for Thames Valley, Supt Rob Povey explains the reasons behind the decision in a YouTube video, available for viewing at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBs_Zw_0uzc

Supt Povey said: “We think this is important because we know that speed kills and speed is dangerous.

“We have shown in Oxfordshire that speed has increased through monitoring limits and we have noticed an increase in fatalities the number of people seriously injured in 2010.

“We know that speed enforcement does work as a deterrent to motorists.”

There are currently 72 fixed sites and 89 mobile sites in Oxfordshire. They were switched off as a result of a withdrawal of funding by Oxfordshire County Council after Government cuts to the authority’s road safety grant.

The decision to switch the cameras back on has been supported by Thames Valley Police Authority committee chair for Oxfordshire Ian Abbott and Oxfordshire County Councillor Cabinet Member for Transport, Rodney Rose.

Cllr Rose said: "We very much welcome this positive approach to financing the operation of speed cameras and will continue to work with our partners at Thames Valley Police in improving road safety in Oxfordshire.

"The county council did not delight in withdrawing funding for speed cameras last year, but took this decision to protect other service areas following a huge reduction in road safety grant from the Government. Other councils across the country took the same view.

"This local solution will ensure funding is properly aligned to support the service delivery and not subject to an external grant funding process. The new process will have a higher level of active engagement with drivers who speed and will be more successful in changing driver behaviour rather than simply trying to penalise offenders in the wallet."

Mr Abbott said: “Iwelcome today's announcement that safety cameras will be reactivated on roads in Oxfordshire.

"Road safety is of fundamental importance to people in our area, as many letters to local papers have highlighted.I believe safety cameras are a worthwhile intervention to reduce the number of road traffic injuries and deaths.

"The reactivation of the cameras will give consistency to road safety measures across theThamesValley."

Supt Povey is not available for interview this week. However, he will be available for filming next to a mobile speed camera on Lambourough Hill, Wootton, near Abingdon on April 1 between 10.30am and 11.30am.

Limited filming and opportunities will be available. To book a place, contact Andrew Heath on 01865 846699.

Notes for editors:

Between August 2010 and January 2011, there were 18 fatalities, 179 people seriously inujured and 982 people slightly injured on Oxfordshire’s roads. During that period, 13 people were seriously injured and 70 slightly injured at fixed camera sites.

Safety camera sites have continued to perform well across the region, with the number of people killed or seriously injured being reduced by 43% compared to the three years before sites were installed. All casualties have also reduced at sites by 23% compared with the periods before installation.

A study by the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership after the cameras were switched off in August 2010, highlighted that the rate of offences at camera sites just one month after they were deactivated were 2.9 times higher than when they were still active.”

For further figures, contact Andrew Heath.

Safety camera sites have continued to perform well across the region, with the number of people killed or seriously injured being reduced by 43% compared to the three years before sites were installed. All casualties have also reduced at sites by 23% compared with the periods before installation.

This local solution will ensure funding is properly aligned to support the service delivery and not subject to an external grant funding process. The new process will have a higher level of active engagement with drivers who speed and will be more successful in changing driver behaviour rather than simply trying to penalise offenders in the wallet

A study by the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership after the cameras were switched off in August 2010, highlighted that the rate of offences at camera sites just one month after they were deactivated were 2.9 times higher than when they were still active.

Does anyone have a link for the Oxfordshire K and SI figures for the same time period over previous years?

It is odd that the 'notes for editors' contains information yet not the critical information needed for comparison.

Even Brake agreed that this period is too short to be of any worthy conclusions ....
So why are the Police pushing it so very much ?

The cost of attending the course is far greater than the cost of providing it, and TVP get to keep the surplus, to help stretch out their budget.

They claim this will improve safety, but most drivers already attend a speed awareness course - it's called learning to drive and passing the driving test!

Mr Howell's business is so successful he is now reckoned to be one of the highest paid ex-police officers in the country. The Association of Chief Police Officers said it was "deeply concerned" by the sums being earned by DriveTech.

"This scheme should not lay people a golden egg," said ACPO's Ian Aspinall, who is in charge of speed awareness courses nationally, adding: "It is all about community safety. This should not be about making money."

But, by being caught exceeding the speed limit, they have demonstrated that they have forgotten what they learned on that course.

Oxfordshire switched off 72 cameras last July.
{Thames police say} money raised from speed awareness courses will now be used to fund the cameras.

DCB, if there is no or little surplus after providing the Speed Awareness Courses, how come TVP told BBCs Newsbeat: ...
Cumbria's THREE mobile cameras cost £1.5 million to run in their first full year, 2003.