The Conservatives issued the following press release:
Conservatives pledge to scrap speed cameras which make money rather than save lives
The Government is waging a war on drivers. Many believe that speed cameras are money makers instead of lifesavers. Conservatives believe that speed cameras are justified if they are sited in genuine black spots and if they save lives. However, we suspect that some of them are extorting money from already over taxed motorists.
Conservatives want to end the war on the motorists. We are on the side of the responsible driver. Damian Green, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport is today unveiling a series of proposals which will encourage safer driving by introducing realistic speed limits and cracking down on the most dangerous drivers. He said:
We think that responsible drivers have been badly hit by this Government and we want to make driving less of a misery. What we are proposing today is a series of common sense practical measures which will get the Government off the back of the sensible driver and restore confidence in the way we enforce the speed limit.
Conservatives will:
Launch a review of all speed limits
Abolish the cash-guzzling Safety Camera Partnerships
Concentrate on criminals in cars rather than on cameras
Clamp down on uninsured drivers and tackle anti-social behaviour
Audit the position of every camera location
Make the speed limit signs in every camera area much clearer
Despite Alistair Darling's claim that "The best camera is one that doesn't issue a single ticket as it means people are driving safely and within the speed limit? it is clear that speed cameras are being used to generate millions of pounds from motorists. This revenue is another stealth tax, generated to boost the Treasury?s coffers. Gordon Brown received over £15 million of fines last year ? but this was a mere 20% of the total raised. Government has got fatter through the creation of 42 Safety Camera Partnerships which are self-fulfilling bureaucracies, raking in millions of pounds each year through fines. To help reduce Fat Government, we pledge to abolish these unnecessary quangos.
Conservatives pledge to:
Launch a review of all speed limits * Motorists face genuine confusion about speed limits on different roads.
* The DfT itself says that ?the current speed limit system results in a great deal of confusion for motorists.? (DfT, Development of a Rural Road Hierarchy for Speed Management, 2001).
* The AA says there is widespread confusion about speed limits and concerns about perceived inconsistent application of limits (?What Limits Speed?? Silcock, Smith, Knox and Beuret, AA Foundation, 2000).
* Conservatives want an increased limit of 80mph where it is safe on motorways and a decrease to 20mph outside schools and hospitals.
* A flexible speed limit policy will introduce drivers to the concept of variable limits based on weather conditions, encouraging responsible and safer driving.
* Confusion on speed limits comes from the lack of association between street lighting and the 30mph limit, which is exacerbated by the restriction on placing repeater signs.
* Conservatives say it is absurd that you can erect a speed camera but not a sign to remind motorists of the speed restriction.
Abolish the cash-guzzling Safety Camera Partnerships * These 42 self-fulfilling bureaucratic quangos exist throughout the UK to administer speed cameras. Despite being government agencies, very little is known about their funding and increasingly they are financial black holes.
* In 2002/3 Partnerships spent £54.3million in operating costs alone.
* Essex Safety Camera Partnership spent £460,000 refurbishing its offices, enough to fund 16 extra police officers a year. (The Sun, January 29th 2004). It spent another £100,000 on travel, office furniture and hospitality.
* Kent Safety Camera Partnership spent £300,000 a year on advertising, enough to pay for 16 extra nurses for our hospitals. In the last financial year it spent a massive £1.3 million government grant. (Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership, Press Release, 16 March 2004)
* The Chairman of Norfolk's speed camera partnership resigned after a report raised doubts about the placement of cameras in Norfolk. Data used to justify the siting of cameras was said to be "questionable and, in some cases, unavailable." (Daily Mail, 29 July 2004)
* At 384 camera sites, the number of people killed or seriously injured has increased since installation of the camera, with the injury rate unaffected at dozens of others. (The Daily Telegraph, June 16 2004)
* We would abolish the Safety Camera Partnerships and remove another layer of Labour bureaucracy, giving operational control directly to the police.
* Police would have to consult the local authority before setting up a camera.
* Scrapping the partnerships ? and slimming down fat government ? would mean that profits went straight back to the police and would be used for improved traffic policing, rather than being wasted on refurbishments and hospitality.
Concentrate on criminals in cars rather than on cameras * Traffic Police time should be spent dealing with bad driving and anti-social behaviour on wheels rather than operating cameras, or worse, paper pushing in the Safety Camera Partnerships.
* We will ensure police are out on the streets and are not bureaucrats behind desks; policing should be in line with local wishes and needs.
* In April it was claimed that traffic police numbers had plummeted from nearly 8,900 to just 6,500 since 1994 (Daily Mail, 9 April 2004).
* The Police Federation says current policy on the use of cameras has damaged relations between the police and drivers. They want a balance between 'automatic devices and properly trained police', pointing out that ?cameras do not deter drink drivers, nor can they detect underage or uninsured drivers, those not wearing seatbelts, without a licence or in possession of drugs or guns? (Source: BBC News, 13 May 2004).
* Conservatives want intelligent policing on our roads ? we cannot replace traffic police with cameras as a way of making our roads safer. Only a patrolling police officer can check whether cars are being driven when they are not fit to be on the road, and whether they are taxed and insured.
Clamp down on uninsured drivers and anti-social behaviour * One in 20 drivers use vehicles without insurance, and the costs of uninsured crashes costing over £500 million a year
* Uninsured driving adds £30 a year to motor premiums for safe drivers.
* Uninsured drivers are 10 times more likely to have been convicted of drink-driving, 6 times more likely to have been convicted of driving a non-roadworthy vehicle and 3 times more likely to have been convicted of driving without due care and attention. (Association of British Insurers)
* Conservatives want a clampdown on rogue drivers by getting tough with those who pose a serious risk to other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. We have called for a hard-line to be taken against insurance-dodgers. This may include the seizure of uninsured cars.
Audit the position of every camera location * Transport Minister David Jamieson said ?The indications are that the cameras are in the right places." (BBC News, 4 March 2004).
* By June 2004, Alistair Darling admitted that there were some sites where cameras had not performed well and that he would be ?asking the partnerships where results were not as good as other sites to see what more could be done to achieve the greatest casualty reductions.? (?Cameras Saving 100 live a year?, DfT Press Release, 15th June 2004)
*We want an independent audit of camera partnerships and their finances, the placement of cameras and their effectiveness.
Make the speed limit signs in every camera area much clearer * Most warning signs for speed cameras do not include an indication of what the speed limit is in the vicinity.
* Local authorities seem reluctant to market the speed limit above the basic legal requirement for signage.
* Already hard pressed motorists believe they are being duped into being caught by speed cameras because they do not know the correct speed.
* Conservatives would ensure that every speed camera has the speed limit sign clearly displayed on its casing, as well as on each warning sign near it.
* We want a change in planning law to allow the use of 30mph repeater signs and an increased use of Vehicle Activated Displays.
Ends
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I issued a Safe Speed PR in response. See:
http://www.safespeed.org.uk/pr135.html
And I've already done an interview on BBC Radio Oxford at 7:45 this morning.
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