The government is putting the brakes on the spread of speed cameras on the roads of England and Wales. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said that from 2007/08 money from speeding fines will no longer go simply on more speed cameras. It will instead fund other road safety measures and better warning signs.

Motoring groups have welcomed the move, with the RAC Foundation saying cameras "should not be the first and last resort for road safety."

There will also be new requirements to improve the signposting of cameras, of which there are 6,000 in the UK. And the transport secretary announced a local authority to review of all speed limits on their A and B roads by 2011.

Speed cameras in Wales will become the responsibility of the Welsh National Assembly from the end of 2007/08.

'Clear proof'

As well as announcing the new measures, Mr Darling was launching a government-commissioned report on camera effectiveness.

Researchers from University College London and PA Consulting visited 4,000 camera sites across the UK over a four-year period.

They found there was a 42% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured at camera sites and 22% fewer personal injury collisions.

Mr Darling said the report provided "clear proof" that safety cameras save lives, but he said he wanted cameras to be linked more closely to wider road safety.

Motoring groups welcomed the new measures.

"Road and junction layout, clearer signing of limits, and better driver education all have a role to play," said Edmund King, of the RAC Foundation.

The AA Motoring Trust agreed, saying that dividing the debate up into pro and anti-camera lobby groups "misses the point". The trust's Andrew Howard said: "The reality is that speed cameras work alongside other measures... but are not the universal remedy some advocates claim."

Before the official announcement, Mr Darling told BBC News authorities often chose to install new cameras as they were effectively free, being run with funds fines.

He said: "I believe it is time to look at the way in which we fund road safety so that when you have got councils and police looking at a particular site, they consider all the options open to them."

He said he hoped the changes would allow authorities to take a broader approach to road safety.

Source: BBC News

The board says two surveys have confirmed tourism businesses are facing serious problems.

The LDNPA says it has a duty to protect the landscape for the public.

National park bosses imposed the limit, which effectively bans high-powered water craft and skiers, in March, to bring tranquillity back to the lake.

But tourist board officials say two surveys of firms in the area revealed over half said a fall in profitability and visitors during 2005 was down to the speed limit.

Chief executive Ian Stephens said it would now be seeking extra funding from the North West Regional Development Agency to help tourism firms and boost the profile of the area following the ban.

He said: "It is now clear that although speedboaters represent a small percentage of visitors to the national park, they are high spenders.

"Attracting new high spending markets is a very difficult task in the extremely competitive tourism market. Of course Windermere has the potential, but businesses, especially small businesses need help to adjust to the new circumstances."

The LDNPA said the tourist board and local businesses had five years' notice of the imposition of the speed limit.

It urged the tourist board to do more to aid the economic regeneration of the area and better support its members.

Source: BBC News

Dr Palmer says motorists do not always know the speed limit
Motorists should know what the speed limit is when they see camera warning signs, a Labour MP has said.

Nick Palmer's Road Traffic Signs (Enforcement Cameras) Bill would make it a necessity that the speed limit is displayed on all camera warning signs.

He said it was possible for drivers joining a road to be unaware of the speed limit on reaching the camera.

His bill, which has all-party support, is unlikely to become law due to a lack of parliamentary time.

Dr Palmer, MP for Broxtowe, told the Commons: "What I am proposing is where a speed camera is in place and the proper signage indicates the camera, the same sign should also indicate what limit the driver is expected to observe."

He said he was not against speed cameras imposing suitable limits, and admitted being caught speeding himself.

But it was in the interests of law enforcement, the drivers themselves and "commonsense" for the speed limit to be clearly displayed, he added.

Source: BBC News

The force say they have every confidence in the camera's reliability
A police video expert who has been given a ticket for driving too fast in Wrexham claims that speed guns are "inaccurate and unreliable".
Lee Tracey, 80, is asking North Wales Police for a copy of the video evidence so that he can challenge the booking.

Mr Tracey, a forensic imaging consultant from Oswestry, is hoping an organisation will take up the case.

North Wales Police said they had "complete confidence" in their officers' ability to use the cameras.

Although well past retirement age, Mr Tracey is still used as a consultant by West Midlands Police.

The pensioner claims he was "just meandering" on a Saturday afternoon shopping trip to Wrexham when he was booked last month for allegedly travelling at 39 miles an hour in a 30 mile per hour zone.

He has since been sent an official letter outlining the police offer of a £60 fine and three penalty points on his licence, but has refused to settle.

"If I was over the limit, I'd put my hands up immediately, but I don't think I was," he said.

But while challenging the reliability of hand-held laser guns, he said he had complete confidence in the accuracy of static speed cameras.

"If you're caught by one of them, then you're done and you might as well accept it and pay up," he said.

But, referring to hand-held guns, he added: "I could point one at a wall and make it show what speed that wall is doing," he said.

"I could show it travelling at 40 miles and hour or even 100 miles an hour.

Effective use

"This is known to the engineering world, but the courts aren't interested because the purpose of these machines is to make to money, not to cut speeding."

Mr Tracey says that most drivers do not bother to challenge the evidence because of the cost involved, but he would like a test case.

"I'd like to take one of these hand-held cameras into court and show a judge, sitting on the bench, that he's doing 80 miles an hour."

Mr Tracey said he had asked North Wales Police to provide video evidence to support the case against him, but they had replied that they were not obliged to do so.

Chief Superintendent Geraint Anwyl, from the operational support division at North Wales Police, said officers were trained in the effective use of these devices.

"I have every confidence in their ability to record the speeds of moving vehicles.

"However, as this matter is currently awaiting court proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further."


Source: BBC News