Call for 1,000 more speed cameras to save lives
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/ ... 37,00.html
Mark Townsend
Sunday August 21, 2005
The Observer
The controversial debate over speed cameras will be reignited this week after Britain's leading police expert on the issue called for a significant expansion of the number of the devices around the country.
Although the government has blocked the installation of more cameras, Ian Bell, speed camera liaison officer for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said Britain's roads required up to 1,000 extra cameras, a 16 per cent increase.
Until now, police have refused to speculate on the precise numbers of cameras needed, amid signs that ministers are beginning to doubt their effectiveness. Motoring organisations claim the devices make 'no significant difference' to road safety.
Bell, however, believes that lives will be lost if dangerous roads are left unprotected by cameras. About 100 people a day are seriously injured or killed on the roads, and speed is blamed as a major factor.
Bell told The Observer: 'My personal feeling is that there will be a moderate growth as more accident speed sites are [identified].' Asked if there could be up to 1,000, Bell agreed.
Officers have begun looking at introducing cameras on entire routes that have been singled out as dangerous because of speeding. 'Certainly they could be useful at weekends in certain areas with high-powered motorcyclists and the like,' he said.
However, Bell also said that some speed cameras may be taken down and replaced by traffic-calming measures or speed signs, and that those installed would be introduced over a long period, to the extent that motorists would barely notice a marked increase in their number.
However, such moves are hardly likely to appease the car lobby, which has condemned speed cameras as revenue-raising devices. The latest figures reveal that two million drivers a year receive a speeding ticket. Opponents include the television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who has claimed that the devices will kill more than they save because drivers brake hard when approaching a camera and risk causing a pile-up.
Recent polls indicate that more than 90 per cent of drivers admit to flouting speed limits, with half not even knowing what the limits were. However, advocates maintain that the doubling of camera sites to 6,000 in the past five years has helped reduce speeding. Since 2000, the proportion of vehicles exceeding the limit in 30mph zones has fallen from two-thirds to just over half.
Bell's announcement coincides with news that the government has embarked on a comprehensive review of Britain's speed limits that could lead to the introduction of an 80mph 'variable' limit on motorways during quiet periods. Talks have begun with Department for Transport officials and senior police leaders to re-examine limits throughout Britain, in a fresh move to challenge Britain's so-called 'speeding epidemic'.
However Bell added that limits could be raised only if safety factors such as enhanced crash barriers were introduced.
'We need to convince people that speed is a problem. Variable limits have a role to play, but they are extremely expensive and extremely expensive to maintain.
Variable speed limits could, according to experts, prove important in tackling congestion. Recent figures reveal that there are more than 40.8 million drivers in the UK and 31.9 million registered vehicles.
This week, police forces will roll out a 'speed awareness programme' across England and Wales. Speeding motorists will be sent back to a one-day £60 driving school as an alternative to gaining points on their licence.
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