Oxfordshire’s safety cameras are to be reinstated on 1 April 2011.
The news was first broken by Brake, the road safety charity, which says that early evidence shows that speeding at camera sites in Oxfordshire has increased by as much as 400%.
The camera sites were decommissioned on 1 August after Oxfordshire County Council withdrew funding for the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership – the organisation which controls speed enforcement in the area.
A new organisational structure is being put into place that will see Thames Valley Police taking over the cost of running the cameras, funding it through fees from drivers sent on speed awareness courses.
Julie Townsend, Brake’s campaigns director, said: “This is fantastic news for communities in Oxfordshire. The bottom line is that cameras are highly effective in reducing speeding and preventing deaths and serious injuries.
“I just hope that other counties that have turned off all or some of their cameras will follow suit, acknowledging that the big switch off was a terrible blow to community safety.”
For more information contact Ellen Booth, from Brake on 01484 550067.
You make assumptions, Mike. I do not read the comics. You would also appear to be on the attack mode here and elsewhere. I speak as I find, and with first hand experience or reliable data from other sources.
Derek, St Albans.
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No Mike. Derek got it from me and I got it directly from Robert Gifford of PACTS. Over £11,000 (about 5% of their income) from the speed industry.
I’m not a member of ABD (or any other campaigning organisation) but will suggest to them that they reconsider their PACTS subscription/donation.
Eric Bridgstock, St Albans
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Ah, I see Derek reads MCN, where the tripe about PACTS first appeared. PACTS also receives funding from the Association of British Drivers, Derek, so what effect do you think that has on PACTS work?
Mike Mounfield, Birmingham
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Mr. Barrell recommends Professor Allsop’s report. Unfortunately, those in receipt of sponsorship – and Professor Allsop is a director of PACTS, who receive thousands of pounds from the speed camera industry – are less likely to be objective about reporting any faults in the theory that cameras save lives.
Derek, St Albans.
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In response to Derek’s comments, the safety camera switch off in Oxfordshire was due to the funding situation and not any doubts over the contribution they make to road safety. On the latter, I would commend to Derek the recent report by Professor Richard Allsop published by the RAC Foundation (The Effectiveness of Speed cameras – a review of evidence).
Geoff Barrell, Principal Engineer, Oxfordshire County Council
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“A terrible blow to community safety”?
No, a terrible blow for commonsense as pressure is applied from ‘above’ for a stand against ‘defeat’ at any cost – lives included. But what else can we expect from government and quasi government quangos. With a claim that speeding has increased by as much as 400% we are neither given details nor statistics of whether ‘speeding’ is accounted for by; a couple of miles per hour over a posted limit; ten or fifteen miles per hour; or if that involved five vehicles speeding out of a previous one per five; or even whether any of the claimed instances of speeding have caused any accident at all.
So what a surprise we have, with the cameras decommissioned as recently as August (this year?) we have claims by the hand wringers that roads are safer. Yet, no longer do drivers need to slow down as they pass then increase speed when out of range, but they now are able to maintain a steady safe speed defined by commonsense and experience without adding to any environmental pollution and running costs from braking and accelerating. There is no distraction to take their observation skills from the road ahead – ‘speeding’ or not. How much more safe will Oxfordshire’s communities feel about these hazards being re-commissioned and re-deployed I wonder.
Any new organisational structure spells costs, at a time when costs (we are being reminded), must be cut. The terrible blow to Oxfordshire communities will more likely be through their wallets, to sponsor by government decree – and all those facsimile organisations pandering to it – the ‘costs’ of running cameras. Yet more dumbing down of a nation kept to heel and on a short leash dare they put a single step beyond the demands made of them – and not a scrap of evidence to show they do what is claimed by the wishful thinkers and interferers who would ultimately have all proceeding behind a man walking with a red flag (and still fatalities occurred).
Where has any single safety camera prevented a single accident? Where, and whose life was it that was saved? I want to meet that person.
The entire safety/speed camera regime has about as much plausibility towards road safety, as steel rimmed wheels would have due to they not being suspect to punctures.
The stupidity continues. The ultimate test over time is how many fatalities occur with excess speed being the main cause of the fatality. For the period from August to date, is not a period over which any clear evidence can be gained and accrued to any one specific cause.
This is a blow to increased road safety.
Derek, St Albans.
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