Cuts for speed camera funding
Added on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | One Comment
Cuts for speed camera funding
The growth of speed cameras on Britain’s roads looks set to slow down after Government confirmed that it will be cutting central funding for safety camera partnerships.
The cut, part of the Tories’ pre-election pledge, will see the £95m that local authorities in England receive for road safety initiatives cut by £38m next year, prompting many local safety camera partnerships to admit that they will no longer be able to fund new cameras and, in some cases, may have to switch off existing cameras all together.
Under the existing schemes, camera partnerships, which are separate arms of a local authority or local authority coalitions, use central finances to fund the installation and maintenance of cameras within their region. The revenue from penalty notices, which previously went to the partnership in question, now goes directly to the treasury.
Under new regulations, local authorities will be encouraged to trial alternative ways of improving road safety and reducing congestion and will be required to demonstrate that any new cameras that are installed are successful in reducing the number of accidents on the roads that they operate on. Should an authority switch off or remove a camera, they would also have to demonstrate that the number of accidents had increased in the intervening period.
Oxfordshire looks set to become the first council to switch off its 72 cameras following the cuts in budget, following the lead of the Conservative-led Swindon council, who turned off its fixed speed cameras last year, before the cuts were announced. Buckinghamshire has also admitted that their cameras may be turned off although other councils, including Lincolnshire and Kingston Upon Hull, have publically said that their cameras will remain active.
Explaining the government’s decision, Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: “In the coalition agreement the Government made clear it would end central funding for fixed speed cameras.
“Local authorities have relied too heavily on safety cameras for far too long so I am pleased that some councils are now focusing on other measures to reduce road casualties.
“This is another example of this Government delivering on its pledge to end the war on the motorist.”
The news has been criticised by road safety campaigners, with fears that the removal of cameras will lead to an increase in deaths on Britain’s roads.
“It would be a disaster if these cuts were passed on in full by county councils to road safety partnerships,” said Ellen Booth, campaigns manager for the road safety charity, Brake.
“It would be especially hard to justify the idea that all speed cameras should be turned off. Speed cameras are a really cost-effective way of managing speed, which is one of the biggest issues on our roads.
“To get rid of them would be a backward step and we would really be risking people’s lives.”
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One Comment
Chris elmer
July 27th, 2010There is not one case stated that a speed camera has saved a life (obviously they have to a certain extent), however the presence of a speed camera has definately killed more than one person due to drivers lack of concentration. There have been incidents where cars have run into the back of motorcyclists when not concentrating and have failed to slow down.
Speed cameras not the answer, cut community police officers and train real police for a whole range of tasks from street crime to motoring offences.