http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 439441.stm
Cameras stem from huge death toll
by Chris Kelly
BBC News, Bristol
They have already been there for a few weeks.
Workmen installed the Gatso cameras on the M4 in Wiltshire earlier this month, but they have had bags placed on top of them saying "not in use".
On Wednesday, the bags came off and the motorway became the first in the country to feature speed cameras to enforce the national limit.
From now on, if you drive over the speed limit between J18 at Bath and J14 at Hungerford, you face a £60 fine and three penalty points if caught.
Those fines end up with the Treasury and the Department for Transport, which gives permission for cameras at accident blackspots.
The Wiltshire move is already proving controversial. Even before the cameras came into use, an early problem became apparent.
Panic braking
Day after day, drivers have been sailing up to the cameras and slamming on the brakes as soon as they saw the distinctive white lines painted on the road.
Paul Smith, of road safety campaign group Safe Speed, warned that panic braking could be a problem.
"They absolutely will not work to improve road safety," he said.
"Apart from the distraction and panic braking effects we also have to worry about moving drivers outside their 'zone of optimal performance'.
"After £700m of speed camera fines we've seen no reduction in general vehicle speeds and no improvement in roads fatalities."
But the blunt message from the Swindon & Wiltshire Speed Camera Partnership - which is running the scheme - is that 240 people died on the M4 in Wiltshire last year - and it wants to reduce that toll.
Spokeswoman Saira Khan told BBC News: "If those 240 people had been wiped out in one day there would have been an outcry."
The rate of deaths has jumped dramatically in the past five years.
In 1999, 193 people lost their lives - today that figure has shot up almost 25%.
'Bad drivers'
"At our fixed camera sites in Wiltshire we've seen a 64% drop in personal injury collisions. If we can achieve this on the M4 it would be great," Ms Khan added.
"People panic braking just shows they are bad drivers - everyone knows what the speed limit is. What does it tell you? They should have slowed down, they are not paying attention.
"If something goes wrong at higher speeds it often means the accident can be fatal. Newer cars aren't good enough to stop you from being crushed."
aul Pinkington, a public health lecturer at the University of the West of England, recently carried out a study into the use of cameras.
His worked showed that they can cut casualty rates by up to 70%, but says they might work differently on motorways.
"The important thing is to make sure they are monitored," he said. "They need to make sure they are being used in the best way, like at accident blackspots."
'Money-making'
Motorists at Leigh Delemare services, on the M4 near Chippenham, seemed unimpressed at the plans, with one claiming they were simply a way of raking in cash.
"It definitely is a money-making business. There's no doubt about it. They are putting them up everywhere just to make money," one said.
"Are the police doing anything these days? No, Not really they're just putting the cameras up to save them more work really."
But another said motorists should stick to the national speed limit.
"I think drivers should stick to 70 mph. I don't speed - what's the point - you get there five minutes earlier that's all."
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