Darling: Speed cameras are saving lives
The Transport Secretary has said independent research proves that speed cameras improve road safety.
The increasing proliferation of speed cameras has been controversial, with a number of motorists claiming that they are revenue raising, not road safety, devices.
According to the three year study of 24 sites by University College London, the number of people killed or seriously injured at sites where safety cameras are in use has fallen by 40 per cent.
This equates to over 100 fewer deaths a year.
In addition, the report found a 35 per cent reduction in pedestrians killed or seriously injured and the number of vehicles speeding at new camera sites dropped by 71 per cent.
Alistair Darling said: “These figures prove that cameras save lives. The number of people speeding has come down and there has been a significant reduction in deaths and injuries at camera sites.”
“Most camera sites have achieved good results. We will 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.”
“We’ve published the location of every site where a camera may be used. These show why the cameras were installed and the effect they have had on casualties. The vast majority have delivered real benefits in safety and prove that the cameras are justified and they’re effective.”
The Association of Chief Police Officers welcomed the findings. Its president, Chris Fox, said: “This study confirms what the Police have known for years. By targeting enforcement at the locations with the worst casualty problem first we impact on the number of casualties and the frequency of crashes.”
“Remember pedestrians hit by cars travelling at 20 mph have a two and a half per cent risk of being killed: a twenty per cent risk at 30 mph: and a ninety per cent risk of being killed at 40 mph, so safety cameras saves lives.”
Edmund King, executive director of the RAC, also welcomed the figures, but said: “We believe, that the Government should conduct a wider review of its policy on speeding, and also ensure better targeting of offenders of other crimes such as drink driving and careless driving.
“The Government should review its road safety strategy to include a commitment to increasing the numbers of traffic police on the roads, better signing of speed limits, and a focus on re-education of speeding drivers through speed awareness courses.
“The massive increase in the use of speed cameras in recent years does not by any means justify the correlating decline in traffic police numbers. The increasing focus on speed cameras and decline in traffic police means that offences such as drug driving and careless driving could be going unchecked.
Paul Smith, the founder of Safe Speed group which campaigns against speed cameras, sharply criticised the research.
He told the BBC that: “What they have done is look at 5,000 sites where speed cameras have been installed but they haven’t looked at similar sites where speed cameras haven’t been installed.
“If they had, they would have found a similar improvement at those other sites as well.”
