Speed cameras are a lazy option

Sir,
The government states that cameras will be installed to combat speeding motorists. No doubt this action is a direct result of the mounting tally of road deaths. All this is has been tried before all over Europe with little effect. Speed cameras in the UK have increased fourfold while the road death tally still continues to rise. The cameras have become little more than a revenue collection resource for the government, but their profitability is now being eroded as more and more are being vandalised or totally destroyed by irate motorists. Look at the road signs in Cyprus and imagine what an ounce of lead shot would do to a camera! Speed humps and traffic-calming measures, as with cameras, are only effective in the short area of road where they are installed. Motorists simply speed up after negotiating the obstacle.

I also notice that the police are making every effort to prosecute motorists in their clampdown on motoring offences. Their impressive results would indicate that there are a lot of illegal drivers and vehicles on the roads. This roadside presence will have a far greater effect than static automatic measures, as speeding is only one concern in road casualties and of course a camera’s evidence can only be used if the car in question is properly registered to the driver, and many are not.

If accident statistics were analysed by the government I would be very surprised if speeding was the primary cause in 10 per cent of fatal accidents. You have only to look around you to see other daily hazards – dangerous parking, hazardous road surfaces, errors of judgment by drivers and you will see that in many areas there are accidents waiting to happen. I agree that the installation of cameras can be beneficial in some cases – where a particular junction or stretch of road features prominently in road accidents, for example, but the seemingly indiscriminate siting of cameras as in the UK cannot be justified.

Installing speed cameras is a lazy way of dealing with the situation. It appears that the government are doing something when in actual fact they will have little or no effect on the number of fatal road deaths. I would suggest that instead of spending money on expensive cameras that will have little effect they continue to fund the road policing patrols. That way, all road traffic offences are being addressed, which in turn will lead to safer roads.

Incidentally Scandinavian police can issue on the spot fines of over £100, which if not met immediately result in the vehicle being impounded at an extra cost to the offending motorist. As a result their roads are safe and speeding is rare.

Clive Kenyon, Yorkshire, UK, and Polis

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