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Safety communiqué highlights camera switch-off

26/08/2010

Road user groups have joined together to promote the discussion of 'life-saving' speed cameras, in the wake of recent switch-offs by local authorities.

The so-called Speed Cameras Communiqué was issued by RoSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) on behalf of a range of organisations, including the AA and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Traffic Safety (PACTS). It says that the issue needs to be raised now before decisions are taken that "may prove irreversible".

Acknowledging that speed cameras are part of a much broader programme of road safety measures, the statement reasserts that the devices help to save lives - pointing to estimates that 100 road deaths are averted each year through their use - and maintains that speed cameras should continue to be employed "where casualty statistics show they are needed".

In addition, it says that a systematic shut-down of the devices would be "close to creating a void in law enforcement on the road". It adds that the vast majority of fixed penalty notices for speeding are issued after motorists have been caught on camera.

RoSPA says that it has been contacting local authorities in recent weeks, and has been told by some that they are intending to change the way they use cameras. It is now seeking "to spark an informed debate" on the issue before more councils make decisions on their use of the devices.

The call comes after Oxfordshire County Council turned off its entire network of cameras at the start of August, a move the council attributed to Government funding cuts that had left it with a depleted road safety budget. At the time, Chief Constable Mick Giannasi, roads policing spokesperson for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said that moves to phase out cameras would inevitably lead to more deaths.

However, earlier this month Brian Gregory, the chairman of motorists' group the Association of British Drivers, said that the public should be wary of "claims of success by the road safety industry".

"Figures put out by such bodies routinely and deliberately ignore the huge strides made in vehicle safety design, better roads and improved paramedic care," he added.

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