SPEED CAMERAS
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| Preventing accidents or infuriating
inconvenience? |
Speed
cameras are designed to save lives but for some drivers they're
infuriating and unnecessary. So how do we balance acceptable
speed limits and safety needs?
Speed kills,
but some drivers dislike the presence of speed cameras so strongly that,
in some cases, they have broken the law by vandalising them.
But now some
drivers are taking revenge on speed cameras.
In
2003 dozens have been vandalised; sawn down, set alight and even shot
at.
More and
more drivers are being caught on camera, adding to the rogues gallery
of speed trap photographs.
Goodbye
To Speed
 |
| This
speed camera has been vandalised like the one disabled by Martin |
Martin O'Callaghan
loves the serene lifestyle of living on the canals.
The top speed that he reaches nowadays on his narrow boat is 4 mph.
His 'go faster' days are behind him since the night he borrowed his work's
van without permission and fell victim to a camera on the A5 near Nuneaton.
In the early hours one morning Martin returned to the scene to destroy
the evidence.
When
the police caught Martin in the act, they were not amused. Martin suffered
a large fine and more than 100 hours community service. He could have
gone to jail!
Speed Versus Safety
Supporters
of speed cameras say reducing deaths on our roads is what their campaign's
all about.
 |
| Speed cameras
can cut serious accidents by 35% |
All the statistics
seem to show that where cameras have been put in place, the numbers killed
and injured have fallen by 35%.
To some,
speed cameras will always be the scourge of our roads.
Inside Out met James Bancroft who has set up a website to campaign against
them. The site even includes a section celebrating their destruction.
But not everyone
approves of his guerilla tactics - least of all the mother of a young
boy killed on Nottinghamshire's roads.
Speed
Kills
Christopher
Marlow, 12, was killed crossing the A610 in Nottinghamshire. The driver
was doing 44 mph in a 30 mph limit.
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| Sabine
Marlow is disgusted by the websites which locate speed cameras |
Christopher's
mother, Sabine Marlow, was surprised and disgusted by those publishing
websites which try to reduce the effectiveness of speed cameras.
"These
people are playing with death," says Sabine
Marlow who lost her son on the Nuthall Road which leads from the M1 in
to Nottingham.
The road has seen a big reduction in speed levels in
the two years since cameras were installed.
There have been no fatalities from speed-related accidents. There's also
been a 40% reduction in those seriously injured and a 30% reduction in
slight casualties.
Safe Not Sorry
Sabine Marlow now visits schools in Nottingham and talks
to children about road safety and speed.
She's keen to get children to encourage their parents to slow down.
Advocates of speed cameras also point to the money that
they raise in fines.
Since speed cameras were installed, 拢6 million
has been raised in Nottinghamshire.
All the money is ploughed back into the road safety聟
and more cameras.
Speed and Technology
Technology is increasingly playing its part in the battle
between the pro and anti-speed lobbies.
Sophisticated radar cameras on the A610 in the East Midlands
don't need film. These digital cameras track cars as they go through a
two mile stretch.
| SPEED CAMERA FACT
FILE |
|
There
are 600 speed camera sites in the West Midlands
Department of Transport figures
show 35% drop in deaths and serious injuries in UK where speed cameras
have been placed
Nationally
there are 2,994 speed camera sites
1,534
fixed
1,460
mobile
Cameras are placed in sites which have been identified as accidnet black spots
In
areas where speed cameras are active, an average of 43% of drivers
are caught speeding
After
the Midlands cameras were put in place there was a 10% reduction
in speed and a 35% reduction in serious accidents.
|
It's a 30 mph limit and if you speed, you always get
caught.
On the other
side of the equation, dodging speed cameras has become big business.
Those trying
to avoid the speed trap will go to great lengths to avoid detection.
One company is making a device which warns drivers when they're approaching
a camera.
Avoiding
the cameras is possible, but there are legal and illegal ways of doing
it.
The question is, why avoid the cameras?
To make your driving safer? Or so you can speed with impunity?
For those
who have lost loved ones to speeding, there's no question that the need
to speed is unimportant compared with the importance of safe roads.
The debate is set to rage on... let Inside Out know your
views
on speed cameras using the comment form below. |
