Road safety experts issue joint statement in defence of safety cameras

source: http://www.roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/1152.html. Comments - some very long & detailed.

RoSPA and Road Safety GB have joined forces with other leading road safety organisations to voice concern about the switching-off of safety cameras.

To spark an informed debate, nine influential groups have put their names to a communiqué which unequivocally recognises safety cameras as an effective part of a much broader programme to save lives and reduce injuries on UK roads.

With many local authorities preparing to discuss cuts to their road safety budgets, it is feared decisions could be taken soon which may prove irreversible.

Before those decisions are taken, the communiqué’s co-signatories want to raise public awareness, demonstrate unity and feed the wider debate with facts.

The communique reads as follows:

We the undersigned agree that:

• Speed cameras help to save lives - an estimated 100 lives a year in the UK.

• Lives are saved by reducing speeding. Speeding significantly increases the risk of an accident happening; and also increases the severity of injuries in an accident.

• Cameras should continue to be used where casualty statistics show they are needed.

• Switching off cameras systematically would be close to creating a void in law enforcement on the road. Cameras currently account for 84 per cent of fixed penalty notices for speeding.

• Cuts might also threaten many speed awareness courses that give motorists an opportunity to learn about the dangers of driving too fast.

• While public spending needs to be cut, cuts must be justified by evidence. Cameras pay for themselves and currently make an important contribution to achieving compliance with the speed limit.

It is signed by:

• The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA): Tom Mullarkey MBE, Chief Executive

• The AA: Edmund King, President

• Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers (AIRSO): Graham Feest, Secretary

• CTC - the UK’s National Cyclists’ Organisation: Kevin Mayne, Chief Executive

• GEM Motoring Assist: David Williams MBE FIRSO, Chief Executive

• Institute of Road Safety Officers: Darren Divall, Chairman

• London Road Safety Council: Councillor Peter Herrington, Chairman

• Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS): Robert Gifford, Executive Director

• Road Safety GB: Alan Kennedy, Chairman

RoSPA has issued an evidence-based defence of speed cameras entitled: “Ten Reasons to Maintain Speed Camera Enforcement”. Click here to view the document.