Anyone else noticed that this has been spun so well that the motoring
organisations haven't noticed speed cameras are now (at last) revenue
raising and a tax on the stupid. Mwa ha ha.
<URL:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4530464.stm>
Rise in speed cameras set to end
A speed camera in Worcester
Money may go to other road safety measures
The government is putting the brakes on the spread of speed cameras on
the roads of England and Wales.
Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said that from 2007/08 money from
speeding fines will no longer go simply on more speed cameras.
It will instead fund other road safety measures and better warning signs.
Motoring groups have welcomed the move, with the RAC Foundation saying
cameras "should not be the first and last resort for road safety."
There will also be new requirements to improve the signposting of
cameras, of which there are 6,000 in the UK.
And the transport secretary announced a local authority to review of all
speed limits on their A and B roads by 2011.
Speed cameras in Wales will become the responsibility of the Welsh
National Assembly from the end of 2007/08.
'Clear proof'
As well as announcing the new measures, Mr Darling was launching a
government-commissioned report on camera effectiveness.
Researchers from University College London and PA Consulting visited
4,000 camera sites across the UK over a four-year period.
They found there was a 42% reduction in the number of people killed or
seriously injured at camera sites and 22% fewer personal injury
collisions.
Mr Darling said the report provided "clear proof" that safety cameras
save lives, but he said he wanted cameras to be linked more closely to
wider road safety.
'Better education'
Motoring groups welcomed the new measures.
"Road and junction layout, clearer signing of limits, and better driver
education all have a role to play," said Edmund King, of the RAC
Foundation.
The AA Motoring Trust agreed, saying that dividing the debate up into pro
and anti-camera lobby groups "misses the point".
The trust's Andrew Howard said: "The reality is that speed cameras work
alongside other measures... but are not the universal remedy some
advocates claim."
Before the official announcement, Mr Darling told BBC News authorities
often chose to install new cameras as they were effectively free, being
run with funds fines.
He said: "I believe it is time to look at the way in which we fund road
safety so that when you have got councils and police looking at a
particular site, they consider all the options open to them."
He said he hoped the changes would allow authorities to take a broader
approach to road safety.
CAMERA EFFECTIVENESS
22% reduction in personal injury collisions (4,230 fewer per annum)
42% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured (1,745
fewer per annum)
70% fall in vehicles exceeding the speed limit (at fixed camera sites)
Source: Four-year report on camera effectiveness
SPEED CAMERAS REPORT
Read the speed cameras report in full (69K)
<URL:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/15_12_05
_speedcameras.pdf>