Safe Speed Forums

A Wiltshire town that decided to get rid of its speed cameras has the safest roads in Britain, a report has revealed.
By Adam Parris-Long | Yahoo! Cars News – Mon, Mar 26, 2012 18:23 BST

Swindon, which scrapped its speed cameras in July 2009 to save on council costs and trial other traffic calming measures, has just two accidents per thousand registered vehicles on its roads - the lowest rate in the UK. The town became the first English local authority to decommission fixed cameras, although it decided to maintain mobile cameras used by police.

Speed camera not in use in Swindon, July 2008.
In contrast, The City of London – which still uses fixed cameras - has more than 45 times the amount of accidents with 90.9 per thousand registered vehicles involved in prangs.
“We are delighted Swindon has come out so well in this research because we take road safety extremely seriously,” a Swindon Borough Council spokesman told Yahoo! News.
“When we removed our speed cameras it allowed us to put extra funding into other road safety measures and this research appears to back up the work we have been doing with the police.”

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Swindon saw little change to the number of accidents after the cameras were scrapped, with no fatalities in the six months following their removal.

Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign director Emma Boon said: “This is more evidence that speed cameras are not the answer to making Britain’s roads safer. The cameras result in fines that represent a significant burden on drivers on the basis of how fast they are driving on one stretch of road, but we need a broader, more effective approach to road safety policy.
“Local authorities should follow Swindon’s example and move to focus on other road safety measures aside from speed”.

The research by insurance firm Stavely Head, compiled from Department of Transport figures, reveals that London’s roads are by far the worst for road safety, with 11 of the UK’s most dangerous 15 boroughs in the capital. Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton also feature in the most dangerous road list.
“We hope that by revealing the Local Authorities with the highest accident rates, more will be done by local councils to make our roads safer”, said Ashley Peters, Director of Staveley Head.
“Around three quarters of road traffic accidents nationwide occur when weather conditions are good, which is a clear indicator that a large proportion of these accidents could be avoided.”

Local Authorities with Safest Roads:

Local Authority - Accident rate per thousand registered vehicles
1. Swindon - 2.0
2. Bracknell Forest - 2.4
3. West Berkshire - 2.4
4. Solihull - 2.5
5. Stockport - 2.6
6. Slough - 2.6
7. Trafford - 2.7
8. Wiltshire UA - 2.8
9. Wokingham - 3.0
10. Stockton on Tees - 3.0

Local Authorities with Most Dangerous Roads:
Local Authority - Accident rate per thousand registered vehicles
1. City of London - 90.9
2. Westminster - 20.9
3. Tower Hamlets - 17.2
4. Islington - 16.7
5. Hackney - 15.5
6. Camden - 14.7
7. Southwark - 14.0
8. Kensington and Chelsea - 13.8
9. Hammersmith and Fulham - 11.9
10. Haringey - 10.9
11. Newham - 10.3
12. Nottingham - 9.5
13. Manchester - 9.3
14. Liverpool - 8.7
15. Brighton and Hove - 8.5

Town tops league for safest driving
9:10am Thursday 22nd March 2012 in News By Katie Bond

Despite the complexities of the Magic Roundabout a survey shows Swindon is the safest town to drive in in the UK Despite the complexities of the Magic Roundabout a survey shows Swindon is the safest town to drive in in the UK
SWINDON may be home to one of the world’s most infamous road junctions and it has banned speed cameras but it has been named the safest town to drive in the UK.
Research compiled by insurer Staveley Head examined accident rates, casualties and road conditions from the Department Of Transport in a review of national road safety.
The results showed Swindon, home to the Magic Roundabout, is in fact the safest place for drivers, with calculations based on accident rates per 1,000 registered vehicles, rather than the total number of incidents.
It comes it at comes in at just 2.0, with the national average more than double this at 4.7.
Of the few accidents recorded in Swindon, most occurred on or around the Magic Roundabout and on the B4289 –the Great Western Way.

Councillor Peter Greenhalgh, the Cabinet Member for Council Transformation, Transport and Strategic Planning, said he was delighted with the findings.
“Obviously this is excellent news and I think it is testament to the stance that we take on road safety,” he said.
“We removed our speed cameras a while back which gave us additional funding which we could put into road safety and we have worked closely with the police to improve this.
“We have always said we take road safety seriously and it is encouraging to see that all the efforts we put in are evidently paying off.
“We are looking at long term improvements to both the Magic Roundabout and the Great Western Way.
“We had already identified these hotspots, and this seems to be corroborated by the report, and £12.1m has been put aside to improve the Great Western Way.”

Countywide, Wiltshire took the top spot for the safest roads in England with an average accident rate of 2.5 incidents per 1,000 registered vehicles.
Ashley Peters, the director of Staveley Head, said: “We decided to conduct the research to raise awareness of the disparity in road safety levels across Britain.
“The results for Swindon are fantastic – motorists here really are setting a prime example for the rest of the country."
To find out more information and to see how other areas in the UK fared, visit http://www.staveleyhead.co.uk/motoring- ... lackspots/

Sometimes the slower speeds entice impatient people to try and overtake dangerously.

Unfortunately the A420 between Swindon and Oxford isn't as good. Even though much of the road is 50mph with speed cameras, accidents are still happening including a recent fatality with a van vs lorry. Sometimes the slower speeds entice impatient people to try and overtake dangerously.

It would appear that the council is not resting on its laurals, new 30mph limits have stated to appear around and between roundabouts where it was previously 40mph.

they really are idiots aren't they?

I think the big stumbling block was when they started to call themselves "officers" instead of "office workers"...it must have given them some sort of power complex, that the name "office worker" somehow didn't muster.

Holes-in-roads are contracted to the private sector (well, used to be but all the austerity means that the private sector has shrunk while the public sector stays the same) (and the holes stay the same as well) (and the public sector hole-fillers were "outsourced" years ago, so no longer exist, unlike the holes)