Council has no plans to scrap speed cameras despite Government cuts
SPEED cameras will continue to catch motorists going too fast in Lincolnshire – despite plans to axe them elsewhere in the UK.
Road safety bosses said the cameras saved lives on the county's roads after it was revealed other counties were preparing to scrap them.
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Oxfordshire County Council officials were meeting today to consider ending funds for speed cameras – one of a number of authorities, said to be considering the move.
The proposals are being driven by cuts in central Government funding, which are expected to come later this year.
But, despite Lincolnshire facing similar road safety budget cuts, officials here say speed cameras will not be turned off.
John Siddle, a spokesman for the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, said: "They are massively important. They help reduce speed and speed is a contributory factor in a lot of collisions on Lincolnshire roads. We are a rural community and we have high-speed roads.
"If somebody came along tomorrow and said 'take all speed cameras out immediately', I am convinced that casualties on our roads would rise significantly."
There are 51 fixed speed cameras in the county.
No new ones have been put up since 2005 and the partnership said no new ones were planned.
But the number of road deaths has dropped since they were rolled out in Lincolnshire – from a high of 104 in 2003 to 52 last year.
The budget for both the fixed cameras seen at the roadside and the mobile ones used by police is about £1 million a year in the county.
Officials at the partnership do not think current estimated Government budget cuts of between 20 and 30 per cent will require speed cameras to be switched off.
But they say they have no way of knowing what national cuts might be enforced in future years.
Safety campaigners have expressed fears about proposals to get rid of cameras elsewhere in the UK.
But some groups say that if they are removed here, their passing will not be mourned.
Keith Peat, Lincolnshire spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, said speed cameras did not spot bad driving – just those breaking an arbitrary speed limit.
He said: "When you create more speed limits, you create more offenders. You are not decreasing accidents."
The village of Brattleby, near Scampton, is plagued with speeding motorists on a daily basis, according to parish council bosses there.
But although chairman Mike Spencer said cameras could work in his village, he had doubts about their wider impact.
He said: "I have severe doubts about speed cameras.
"I don't think they serve any purpose if they are not hidden."
14 Comments
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by Andy, Spalding
Friday, April 01 2011, 8:19AM
“Anyone remember what the roads were i like in the 70's? personally i dont but ive been told it was better, simple rules, less chance of slowing down and speeding up causing accidents, and apparently you didnt need your clutch as much. I think we need to take a few steps back to when things were making sense.”
by John, Lincoln
Wednesday, July 28 2010, 9:48AM
“anecdote v actual scientific study from a university. Sadly people tend to believe anecdotes over scientific rigour. It was only for a 6 month period, Councillor Peter Greenhalgh who was the champion behind removing the cameras said "The period has been relatively short so there is always a chance that there will be a statistical blip," you don't say. That was in 2008 and the information came out in April 2010, what happened in the two full years after the cameras removal?”
by Chris, Staffs
Tuesday, July 27 2010, 7:09PM
“Will, the Shire, is slightly adrift - I think he means Swindon, not Slough. Swindon took their cameras out and found that the accident rate for the six months before and the six months after was exactly the same, except that the six months with the cameras included one fatality and there were none in the six months after the cameras were switched off. One can't infer from this that the cameras caused the fatality, of course, though you can be sure that if the figures were reversed the pro-camera brigade would be on their hind legs bleating that removing the cameras had caused the death!
You might as well take the cameras out, Lincolnshire - they're not doing any good and no-one will miss them. Except the people who work for the Camera Partnership, of course, who will be off to the JobCentre!”
by Colin Mair, Coningsby
Tuesday, July 27 2010, 5:58PM
“Let's have more speed cameras! No, reduce all speed limits to 10mph, or maybe 5mph. Why not have a person walk in front of my car with a red flag? Isn't there a place in Kent where they use speed cameras to enforce a 5mph speed limit? We WILL finally reach a point where we realise these control freaks that preach Elf N' Safety don't quite have it right, but of course to disagree with them labels me as some 'Top Gear' speed freak, despite 40 years of safe motoring without one ticket! Hey, I walk fast, why not book me for that?”
by Mark, Near Slough
Tuesday, July 27 2010, 4:36PM
“Will the Shire. You are wrong, there are still plenty of Speed cameras in Slough.”