Should speed cameras be abolished in Dorset?
By nikbus | Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 14:26
The drivers of Oxfordshire were surely celebrating with the announcement that their council have agreed to a £13 million of cuts which includes the funding for speed cameras.
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The death of the yellow speed camera
The council is set to make a staggering £600,000 saving as this money will no longer be required for Thames Valley Road Safety Partnership to operate the 73 fixed and 87 mobile camera sites. If the council backs the cuts the cameras will be withdrawn immediately.
Swindon Borough Council became the first English local authority to abandon the speed cameras in July last year so will other councils follow this trend as they search for ways to cut spending. In 6 months after removing them they have confirmed that road accident numbers ‘remained the same’. They state that only 6% of accidents resulted from speeding.
The income generated by the speed cameras is not as ‘money making' as once thought as the money has to go back to central government to cover court costs.
Will the demise of the speed camera cause a rise in car accident figures?
Do we not speed right down for the yellow box only to speed right back up again? Do the cameras cause are stress levels to rise particularly for those that driving is part of their livelihood.
The cameras started to be put onto our roadsides in 1992 and have caused much debate between drivers and safety campaigners. So after 18 years, 6000 cameras and £100m in fines later if they save lives then why are they being removed?
The government are cutting spending budgets on road safety by 40% to reduce public spending.
Will Dorset Council follow suit? And if so will this mean and increase in accidents on the roads? Or do we think that most drivers are now responsible and committed to driving responsibly and for those that aren’t do cameras make any difference?
The statistics show a 38% drop in vehicle collisions in the wider Thames Valley region including Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.
What do you think? Would you want the speed cameras to be removed in Dorset?
Comments
I think it's a bad idea to get rid of speed cameras. Let's face it they are there to catch people speeding, and the high amount of revenue these cameras make show just how effective they are. Get rid of them and where is the deterrent to speeding? All it will do is succeed in making our roads dangerous again, allowing idiots to drive at what speed they like with little or no chance of getting caught. I for one want my safer roads for my family. Keep speed cameras, it would be a crime to get rid of them.
By DomCar at 15:57 on 28/07/10
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