Cameras switched off in council cuts
Added on Friday, April 1st, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Cameras switched off in council cuts
More than 350 speed cameras will be switched off from today as part of council cost cutting measures, although 72 fixed cameras in Oxfordshire will be switched back on after an increase in road casualties.
Councils across the UK will switch off 368 cameras today, claiming that the switch-off is due to government funding cuts. The West Midlands will see the largest number of cameras switched off, with 204 cameras deactivated in the region.
A total of 100 cameras will be switched off in Staffordshire, with 42 deactivated in Northamptonshire, 16 in Somerset and 6 in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight region.
The cameras are however likely to remain in their current positions, with estimates putting the cost of physically removing a Gatso camera at around £2,000 per camera.
The decision has been criticised by road safety campaigners, with Julie Townsend of the charity Brake claiming that the decision was “An appalling betrayal of communities.”
“Evidence shows [speed cameras] work on reducing casualties and protecting people,” she claimed. “Turning them off is a disgrace.”
Meanwhile, 72 fixed camera locations will be reactivated in Oxfordshire after an increase in accidents in the first six months since the cameras were switched off.
Deaths on the roads in the county increased by 50% in the first 6 months of the cameras being switched off, with 18 fatalities and 179 seriously injured between August 2010 and January 2011 on the county’s roads.
The 72 cameras and 89 mobile sites will be paid for by speed awareness courses and backroom savings.
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