Speed cameras are coming back
By David Millward, Transport Editor - 6:20AM BST 13 Sep 2012
The number of motorists caught speeding is set to rise as enforcement cameras make a comeback across the country.
New generation of speed cameras on the way
Sophisticated digital devices, funded by motorists attending speed awareness courses, are replacing ageing film cameras which are coming to the end of their useful life.
More than half the safety partnerships are now installing new digital cameras, with the number set to increase by nearly 50 per cent in the next 12 months alone, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
The surge comes within months of the Government, which pledged to end the “war on the motorist” announcing that it was pushing up speeding fines from £60 to £90, a rise of 50 per cent.
On taking office the Coalition sought to mollify drivers by stopping Whitehall funding for speed cameras. In addition spending cuts led to others being switched off because partnerships could not to operate them
But reports of the death of the camera have proved premature. Of the 33 partnerships who responded to inquiries from The Daily Telegraph, 21 confirmed that they were embarking on a comprehensive renewal programme over the next two to five years, while another six are still considering their next move.
The impact of the new digital cameras could be dramatic. Unlike the older machines, they never run out of film and can take pictures indefinitely.
Their running costs are lower, as police officers are not needed to collect and develop the film.
Instead the information from the camera is sent automatically to a control centre which, once the car has been identified from its number plate, can send out a notice of intended prosecution – the first stage towards fining motorists and putting points on their licence.
Four partnerships – Cheshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, Northants and Nottinghamshire – said they expected the number of prosecutions to increase.
Many cameras were switched off when the Coalition choked off funding after the election, others fell victim to the spending cuts which hit local government hard.
However the camera programme appears to have been rescued by the spread of speed awareness tests, which have been attended by 1.8 million motorists since January 2010.
While speeding fines, which were paid just under by 1 million drivers in England and Wales in 2010 go to the Treasury, fees for speed awareness courses are retained by police forces and safety partnerships.
It is this cash which is paying for the cameras.
The courses, currently made available by 41 forces across the country, cost from £70 to £97 – slightly more than the existing £60 fine.
But motorists who volunteer to take a course avoid three points on their licence.
They are currently offered to drivers who have not gone more than 10 per cent plus 9mph over the speed limit.
Exactly how many motorists are prosecuted will depend on the nature of the cameras being installed.
Fewer motorists tend to be prosecuted in areas with average speed cameras than those where traditional devices, which measure how fast motorists are going in one place.
This is because a higher proportion of drivers stick to the limit where average speed cameras are in place.
The return of the cameras was condemned by Keith Peat, spokesman for the Association of British Drivers and a former traffic police officer.
“This is entirely predictable. The fact of the matter is the road safety industry, which includes the manufacturers of the devices and the partnerships, have a vested interest.
“These cameras can’t see how an accident happened, they can’t see whether you were drunk or if you were careless.
“This Government is continuing the war on the motorist and it is counterproductive.”
However Stephen Hammond, the newly appointed transport minister, distanced the Government from the return of the speed cameras around the country.
“It is for local authorities and police to decide whether or not to use speed cameras and how they wish to operate them.
“However, we do not believe that cameras should be used as the default solution in reducing accidents, nor as a way of raising revenue.”
The updating of the cameras was defended by the country’s top traffic police officer, Dept. Chief Const. Suzette Davenport.
“Speed cameras are put in place to deter drivers from speeding and catch those who do. Drivers who are found breaking the law could be prosecuted and incur a criminal record,” she said.
“Using technology to make the roads safer for all drivers is an excellent example of police moving with the times.”
Also :
Speed cameras making a comeback
Updated: 13/09/2012 10:33 | By motoringresearch.com
Thought the inexorable march of the speed camera was on the wane? Think again.
The rising number of motorists avoiding points by attending a speed awareness course is funding more sophisticated new digital cameras, which are set to replace the current generation of ageing film-based cameras.
The Telegraph reports that more than half of the country’s safety camera partnerships are busy installing sophisticated digital cameras – which never run out of film and cost less to maintain – with the number of such devices expected to rise by nearly 50 per cent over the next 12 months.
Digital cameras can send images of offending cars automatically to a control centre, giving a better ‘hit rate’ than film-based units, which involve a more labour-intensive process before a ticket is issued.
The demise of that yellow peril on a pole, the Gatso, was widely reported when the Coalition government to power and declared an end to war on motorists.
After the flow of central government funding for speed cameras was halted, many local authorities switched off their speed cameras and disbanded their safety camera partnerships altogether.
That trend is reversing now, thanks to the Police and camera partnerships being allowed to bank the fees charged to motorists attending speed awareness courses – which range from £70 to £97.
Speed awareness courses are offered by 41 Police forces across the country to drivers within a tolerance zone of 10 per cent plus 9mph over the posted speed limit.
Swindon, the first town to switch off all of its cameras in 2009, reported a fall in fatalities and serious injuries at its camera sites in the year following the switch off – whilst some speed camera sites have seen a rise in accidents since being installed.
“This is entirely predictable. The fact of the matter is the road safety industry, which includes the manufacturers of the devices and the partnerships, have a vested interest,” Keith Peat, ABD spokesman and former traffic police officer told the Telegraph.
Meanwhile, the Chair of ACPO’s National Roads Policing Forum, Suzette Davenport told the paper:[quote=Chair of ACPO’s National Roads Policing Forum, Suzette Davenport]“Speed cameras are put in place to deter drivers from speeding and catch those who do. Drivers who are found breaking the law could be prosecuted and incur a criminal record,”
“Using technology to make the roads safer for all drivers is an excellent example of police moving with the times.”
[/quote]
Sadly I am not the slightest bit surprised, as many Councils have been converting to the digital sets ups for a while, although some Councils had previously indicated that they could not afford to convert. Now it seems that perhaps they have been shown how they can afford it with course costs being the round route of the cash injection required!
Clearly this shows that it is not about road safety but pure technical offence with no road safety intentions.