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Speed camera cash hits £1 million

Jan 13 2006

POLICE in Dumfries and Galloway raked in nearly £1 million from speed cameras last year.

Figures released by the Safety Camera Partnership show a total of £993,720 being collected in fine revenue.

This figure makes the region’s speed traps the third highest earners in Scotland behind Strathclyde on £3.04million and Lothian on £3million.

And more than 20,000 drivers have paid the price with a £60 penalty ticket and penalty points on their licence.

However, deaths on the region’s roads have continued to rise ... from nine in 2004 to 17 in 2005.

Campaigners against speed cameras have branded the figures as ‘madness’.

Paul Smith from the Safe Speed Road Safety Campaign believes speed limits should be set according to the individual driving conditions.

He said: “Recent official figures show that speed camera benefits have been overrated by a factor of four.

“The madness that generates nearly £1 million in fines in an area the size of Dumfries and Galloway must end and end soon.

“The speed camera programme has failed.

“It's failed to make the road safer, it's failed to win public confidence.

“All it has done is make money.”

Dumfries and Galloway Safety Camera Partnership operates two mobile speed traps at 14 accident blackspots in the region.

Since the initiative was launched in 2003, the partnership claim an 82 per cent reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured and a 50 per cent reduction in minor casualties at these sites.

And the Safety Camera Partnership says these are the most important figures — not the revenue created by the cameras.

Stuart Hamilton from the partnership said: “Although it is easy to analyse the financial statistics, they should be compared to the casualty statistics specific to the proven crash locations and routes that the partnership enforce on.

“No value can be placed upon the pain of losing a loved one and it is the grief, suffering and trauma that is caused by losing a loved one that we want to reduce.”

Dumfries and Galloway Safety Camera Partnership is currently working towards a road safety target for 2010.

These targets include reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on the region’s roads by 50 per cent.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

The chief constable has put in a desperate letter in today's standard I will try to put it on when I can

lol - 82% reduction? Since when? Last week?

Interesting. Thanks. I've had a good look around the online version and I can't find any letters at all.

And

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Thank you. I have been watching for a while and now is a good time to start posting.
I hope this has worked

It all stinks of double standards to me, every force which has had a reduction in deaths claim cameras are a huge success but if they have gone up the timescale is too short.
When I get time I will also be writing directly to the chief constable

Thanks Hizzy. I've cleaned it up a bit and hosted it:



I agree that it is well deserved of a reply. I'm considering the content of a Safe Speed reply. It might be titled 'Good intentions are not enough'.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

82% reduction in crashes (caused by the cameras according to them)

88% increase in fatalities (But this is caused by not analysing statistics for long enough)

Who are they trying to kid?