Speed Cameras Banned
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} SPEEDING Scottish Solicitor Says Ditch Speed Cameras and Follow The Swindon Council Example Graham Walker of roadtrafficlaw.com Solicitors claims that Scottish councils should follow their example. Speeding expert Walker claims speed cameras no longer make financial sense. He said "Critics of the Swindon decision claim that the council are experimenting with people's lives, thereby accepting the premise that speed cameras are the most effective way of combating speeding and increasing road safety. Speed cameras may well slow people down at hot spots and it may well be that they sometimes save lives but they are not the only solution. I would suggest that it is time for a re think and for councils to demand value for money in their fight to increase road safety. Lets not get hung up on some emotional debate but concentrate on the hard and fast figures that stack up to improved road safety not increased revenue and convictions. Speeding is a serious issue in Scotland however our money is used to buy these ridiculously expensive camera systems, money is then taken from motorists in the shape of fines but where does all that cash go?". The Councils are now expected to run the road safety schemes whilst the Government picks up the benefit in the shape of fines and fixed penalties. The level of fines increased from £40 to £60 in 2000, but recent changes mean all cash raised now goes into Treasury coffers instead of local speed-camera partnerships. The Government then makes road safety grants to local councils. I applaud Swindon councils decision as they have been bold enough to say "Let's look at an alternative route to improve safety". Speeding needs to be tackled in more than one way. Alternatives are developed all the time and we need to look at how effective these alternatives are. We are talking about serious money here, the sort that could be used to re engineer sections of some of Scotlands' worse roads and heaven forbid actually engineer out "Accident Blackspots" There's a thought - Instead of a camera taking shots of speeders for years on end why not sort the road and remove the camera? In Scotland we have some major roads where "temporary" traffic light signals have been operating for years! You may say that if speed cameras even save one life how can any reasonable person have a problem with them. However we should not be seduced into thinking these grey boxes are a quick fix. They tackle only one element of bad or illegal driving, which happens to be the only one that can be automatically measured by a computer so it is cheap to operate. The lack of any discretion in prosecution means that large sections of our society are criminalised by these weapons of mass prosecution and that can mean that people feel less inclined to assist the police or believe that our justice system delivers justice for all. Police officers on patrol can be highly effective and they are a great deal better than some robot costing vast amounts of money. An untaxed and uninsured car is likely to be badly maintained and unroadworthy, you might expect it to be driven by someone who doesn`t take any notice of any other laws or rules of decent behaviour. And they might be driving down your cul-de-sac while your kids or grandkids are playing in the street. These cameras don't catch uninsured, disqualified or drunken drivers or stolen vehicles and there is no doubt there are more of them on the road than there are 'dangerous' speeders. Our MPs should be asked what they are doing with the money taken from motorists. How much is actually put back into practical road safety that does not involve speed cameras? The fact that this statistic is not widely known sends a message to me that the Government sees speed cameras as a politically acceptable cash cow. Using speed cameras as a cash cow undermines public confidence in our system of justice on the pretence that it is a panacea for road safety .