Speed cameras vote could have domino effect

Earlier this week Oxfordshire County Council voted to withold £600,000 of funding from the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership, which has responsibility for speed cameras in the county and the Thames Valley area.

The partnership said that such a cut would mean that enforcement at mobile sites in the county will cease “with immediate effect”. The vote is due to be ratified next Tuesday.

The Thames Valley Safety Roads Partnership’s budget has been cut by 27 per cent, from 4.2m to 3.1m. The cut imposed by Oxfordshire County Council was by far the biggest. But the partnership says it can afford to continue running speed cameras in the remaining local authorities within its ambit.

Oxfordshire County Council is the largest of the 10 unitary or county authorities that form the Thames Valley partnership.

‘An end to the war on the motorist’
In response to the move by Oxfordshire council, road safety minister Mike Penning said: “In the coalition agreement the government made it clear it would end central funding foxed fixed speed cameras.

“Local authorities have relied too heavily on safety cameras for far too long, so I am pleased that some councils are now focusing on other measures to reduce road casualties. This is another example of this Government delivering on its pledge to end the war on the motorist (…)

“I would hope that councils will use the funds available to put in place new measures to tackle road safety problems.”

'We have huge public support for safety cameras'
"With the funding cuts the government is having to make, we're having to review what we're doing and we're still in discussion with government about how we take things forward," Steve Thornton, chair of West Yorkshire's road safety partnership, told Channel 4 News.

"For us, cameras are put in as a last resort. We're returning about 52 per cent savings in killed and serious injury on roads where we have cameras, and we have huge public support for them. 

"People want to be safe on the roads where they live, and speeding intimidation is an important factor in their quality of life. We get far more requests for cameras than requests to take them out.

"We are looking to maintain an effective enforcement strategy that is key to reducing road casualties still further and has been key to the savings we've already made. 

"The West Yorkshire local transport plan committee last Friday considered this issue and felt it important to put forward thoughts about localising speed enforcement. That means that essentially we can deal with the problems that most affect our community.

"We have explained to the minister that we have always used speed cameras as a last resort and consider the full range of road safety interventions in relation to crashes and injuries. We have done this in consultation with local communities. 

"The things the government is talking about, things being community-driven, are things we've been doing for some time." 

‘Serious safety concerns’
Last month the coalition government announced a £38m reduction in road safety grants to local authorities as part of the 2010/11 budget reductions.

Dan Campsall, communications manager for Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership, told Channel 4 News: “We certainly have serious concerns about the safety implications.

“Evidence from our own studies and all sorts of academic studies clearly demonstrates that safety cameras have a beneficial impact far beyond what we’ve seen on the normal road network.”

He explained that a huge part of the partnership’s education work came on the back of enforcement. “We educate 53,000 speeding ticket offenders every year, and with the planned cuts in Oxfordshire about one third of that number will not be touched in future.

“And those education courses are proven to be effective – they reduce reoffending rates by up to 60 per cent.”

In May road safety professionals warned the new government that any “impulsive decision” on fixed speed cameras in England would put lives at risk.

Steve Thornton, chair of West Yorkshire’s road safety partnership, said said: “Fixed-speed cameras are an essential part of our strategy to reduce road casualties and crashes.

“We are certain they are giving us benefits in terms of reducing casualties.”

'Over-reliant on cameras to achieve road safety outcomes'
Extracts from a letter to local highway authority executives from junior transport minister Mike Penning, dated 22 June 2010

"Road casualties have huge economic and human costs. The government is fully committed to working with local authorities to deliver further improvements in road safety.

"It is clear from the evidence that speed cameras, in the right place, can be an effective way of helping manage safety risks. But my view is that to date local partners have been over-reliant on cameras to achieve road safety outcomes. The number of cameras has increased greatly over the last decade and many motorists feel they are being unfairly and indiscriminately targeted to generate income from fines. 

"I have two clear objectives. First, while cameras operations will have a continuing role, I want to see authorities considering the potential of the full range of local road safety interventions, including educational or engineering solutions. Second, I want to ensure that local partners are accountable to local voters for the decisions they take on the location of cameras and the scale of camera operations, and for the financial consequences of those decisions. 

"In order to achieve these objectives, I will be doing two things. First, I will be making changes to the arrangements for funding road safety activities at local level. After this financial year, we will be ending the discrete road safety capital grant, which has been closely associated with paying for new speed cameras. We will also be reviewing the future arrangements for resource support to local authorities, as part of a wider planned rationalisation of funding support to local authorities (...) 

"I have asked my officials to develop proposals for improving the transparency of camera operations, by making available to local people data that is available on the effectiveness and impact of individual safety cameras in their areas. We will be coming back to you on this point over the coming months."