Safe Speed Forums

NO MORE SPEED CAMERAS SAYS TOP COP

BRITAIN's top traffic cop is calling for a halt on any more speed cameras insisting: "Enough's enough."

Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom has made the amazing U-turn after admitting that the policy is failing to end the carnage on the roads.

"We have 6,000 cameras in the UK covering every identifiable hotspot, yet road deaths have gone up," said Mr Brunstrom, head of road policing at the Association of Chief Police Officers.

"We can't keep on going until there is a camera on each lamppost. We've got to stop somewhere."

The ACPO wants to double the number of cameras to 12,000, but Mr Brunstrom called for a rethink after latest figures showed 3,508 died on our roads in 2003 - the highest figure since 1997. And last year deaths and serious injuries actually increased at one camera site in seven, even though 2.2millon drivers were fined and had three points put on their licence.

Mr Brunstrom wants a softly-softly approach with vehicle-activated signs warning drivers to slow down.

"When we look at deaths on the roads we discover we're dreadfully out of step," he said. "We want to create a culture where cameras are friends." The transport lab TRL found the vehicle-activated signs, which cost £5,000 each, led to a 7mph fall in average speeds along with a 34 per cent reduction in accidents.

This compares with a 3.7mph cut in speeds and 14 per cent reduction in accidents where speed cameras costing £30,000 are installed

Here:

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"CAMERAS "DO NOT" SAVE LIVES" !!
(Richard Brunstrom Says so !!)

Champaigne time.

Excellent news.

Safe Speed issued the following PR at 13:52 today:

PR178: Brunstrom must now resign says Safe Speed

News: for immediate release

The Sunday Mirror reports that Chief Constable Brunstrom - the man
most responsible for speed camera policy - has declared that:
"Enough's enough, speed cameras aren't cutting road deaths". Safe
Speed has been pointing this out since 2002 - Brunstrom's statement is
years late.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign
(www.safespeed.org.uk) said: "Halting the expansion of speed cameras
isn't enough. If the scheme worked expansion would work. The fact is
that the negative side effects of speed cameras are GREATER than the
potential benefits. We now have to scrap the lot to get road safety
back on track. They are a dangerous distraction from good driving and
good policy. If speed cameras had never been introduced, UK road
deaths would be down to about 2,200 per year by now - just by
following the previous long term trend."

Paul continues: "I'd like to hear Mr Brunstrom say: 'I was wrong, I'm
sorry, I resign.' No man of any conscience could do less."

Paul joked: "I guess he's been reading our website."

Safe Speed calls for all speed cameras to be scrapped because they are
directly and indirectly responsible for increasing road deaths. All
speed camera operations must be suspended immediately. Only then can
we get back to the policies that gave us the safest roads in the world
in the first place. Drivers need to hear messages about skills,
attitudes and responsibilities. Obeying the speed limit is absolutely
no guarantee of safety, And cameras haven't even increased speed limit
compliance to any significant degree.

<ends>

Mr Brunstrom is head of the Association of Chief Police Officers
(ACPO) road policing committee.

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

Oh what joy to see a discredited policy unravelling in front of your eyes

Well done, Paul - you've got a lot of people's backs up, and a lot of people have dismissed you as a nutter, but by constantly picking away at the spot, you've undermined the whole policy.

As Wordsworth said, "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive!"

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Yes, well done Paul ... and everyone else of course

_________________
Chris
www.chrishillcoat.net

Thanks guys.

Yep. I smell victory.

I've advanced the 'Camera Meltdown Countdown' to 7 days. (see the front page of the main web site).

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

I checked the calendar to see if it was April 1st when I read that.

NO! We don't want him to resign. He's a convert! Welcome him into the fold. He has succeeded in seeing where it went wrong while others (CSCP) can't.

He deserves some credit for that at least.

I can't believe what I just read. Brunstrom must have been consuming some of the drugs he asserts should be legalised. Alternatively, maybe I am being over cynical but this seems an opportune time for such an astounding U-turn: just a few weeks before the General Election.

Nick M

No he doesn't deserve any credit. He MUST resign. He's responsible for failing to save thousands of lives. It's about as big a mistake as anyone can make in public office (except Blair of course) and the only decent thing is to resign.

The fact of the resignation is the confirmation of the facts.

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

Agreed - on another forum I suggested Brunstrom staying in office was like asking Ceaucescu to oversee the transition from Communism in Romania.

We need someone sensible in his place like Paul Garvin.

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

If there was a 'tongue in cheek' smiley I would have used it

I'm rather surprised that only the Mirror has picked up on this -- if Brunstrom has really said this, you'd expect it to be all over the Sun and the Telegraph, at least.

And of course, he doesn't have any control over the govt scamera policy.

But still, if true it's a small victory at least -- maybe now the government will take notice and admit failure. Good work Paul, I'm sure you must've helped achieve this.

Seriously folks - I have suspected for a little while that Brunstrom is 'yesterday's man'. The cash from cameras bandwagon is rolling too fast. I've heard from many policemen that control of road traffic and parking offences is to be devolved to local government and that Brunstrom and his successors are to lose grip on these issues, which would explain his u-turn!

My Apoligies for posting Something similar else where earlier, I must have overlooked this one!

What took him so Long to realise this?

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RoADA Member -GOLD 2008
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

Over the past couple of years, half a dozen (or so) 'Top Cops' have criticised the use of scameras on their 'patch', but only........'after' their 'retirement' !

Here's just one of them:

They never dared to voice their opinions whilst they were actively involved in 'dragging in revenue', but within days of leaving their post, they were up in arms about the 'real reason for cameras' (money) !

(Maybe they were peed off at having to lose out on their 'cut' ?)

Some of you out there may have noticed this also ?

I'm wondering if Brunstrom is about to finish, and this is the reason for his 'U' turn ?

_________________
"CAMERAS "DO NOT" SAVE LIVES" !!
(Richard Brunstrom Says so !!)

So who are the died in the wool hard liners?
Essex, Lancs, Wilts & Notts presumably; who else?
Or is Brunstrom just electioneering on behalf of his political masters, and all this talk will disappear when the election's over?

Senior policemen are really political appointees. Look at the pronouncements on the "huge numbers" of terrorists from the ennobled previous head of the MET. Conveniently timed don't you think.

It wouldn't surprise me if this is some political fix up.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

The only thing that concerns me is that the report doesn't cite a source for the quotes, was it a speech at a public meeting or an ACPO type affair? Hopefully some other outlets will pick up on the story during the week and confirm what he said and where. The words are quite clear whatever the context but it would be interesting to see who the people listening were.

Gareth

The Sun carries THIS report, but I can't find anything else anywhere, even the ABD haven't picked it up yet.

_________________
"CAMERAS "DO NOT" SAVE LIVES" !!
(Richard Brunstrom Says so !!)

i like the bottom of the Sun report

7 days till meltdown, more like 3!

actually, hang on, the government want congestion and logjams

also Brunstrom still hasn't fully u-turned, it's just that cameras aren't effective "safety" (read speed reduction) tools. He still loves speed

Simon