Promise: no more speed cameras

[Whealie]

Nich Brown, general secretary of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), says he does not believe transport minister Philip Hammond’s claim he will not fund any more speed cameras and will tackle a 14-year ‘war’ on motorists.

But the BMF said it was “good news indeed”.

MAG’s Brown said: “All the government are really saying is that central government won't directly fund more cameras. But new cameras can be funded locally and a lot of local funding comes from Central government.





Local communities
“There are lots of ways in which 'letting local communities make their own decisions' will be used as a smokescreen for lack of central government action to make sure roads are designed or looked after or managed properly, let alone things that specifically help bikes such as nationwide access to bus lanes."

A BMF spokesman said: "For too long speed cameras have been used as a poor substitute for proper road policing. We need to raise the skill level of road users and catch the careless, the dangerous and the inconsiderate road user - cameras were never going to do that."

A transport department (DfT) spokesperson said: “The Transport Secretary has been clear that central government will not fund any new fixed speed cameras. Ministers will be considering how this policy is implemented.”

Brake wants cameras
Road safety charity Brake condemned the government. Chief executive Mary Williams OBE said: “Road death is the biggest killer of young people in the UK and there is a vast amount of data showing that cameras reduce speeds and save lives.

“Not only that, most people accept that they are a legitimate road safety measure, and communities are still crying out for them outside their schools and homes.

“With advances in technology, it is now possible to have digital cameras that track a vehicle’s speed between two fixed points on all kinds of roads, residential as well as rural, and it would be nothing short of a scandal if this life-saving technology sits on shelves rather than streets because of archaic political bias that isn’t even popular.”

British companies
MAG said it feared the government would not stop because so many companies had invested in speed camera technology. “British companies are at the forefront of speed management technology, so it seems unlikely government will want to stifle their domestic market,” Brown said.

MAG’s Brown added: "It will be interesting to see if the new administration is any more willing to reduce the amount of tax they take from riders.

“I pay three times more road tax on a 660cc Tenere that does 60+mpg, than I do on a 690cc Smart car that only 50+mpg. The bike produces less CO2 than the car so why am I being punished for using it?"

Links (new windows)
DfT
MAG
BMF
Brake

[hotbulb]

We shouldn't believe anything ANY politician says, so can probably discount anything favourable attributed to the incoming minister. However business always seems to have the politicicians' ear so their views may count.
As for the "most people accept that they are a legitimate road safety measure" - I have to disagree.... most people I know regard them as a money-making scam to finance plod's donuts, or politicians' "junkets".
But no doubt motorised road users will be persecuted, and treated as cash cows, for as long as we have politicians!

[StumpyFingers]

We do not need speed cameras to keep the roads safe.
If the number of potholes increase the roads will be unsafe to travel on above a certain speed which will reduce the overall speed.