When I read an article yesterday which mentioned the number of fixed speed cameras in Wales, I asked a friend how many he thought there were. He said several thousand, and I too thought there would be at least a thousand or so.
But apparently the figure is 198 ... and only 68 of them are working.
I think this is scandalous. Any motorists who drives too fast is breaking the law, and speed is a contributory factor in accidents. Speed cameras are probably the most effective way of both reducing speed and freeing up the police to do other things. They are an exemplary way of using simple technology to good effect.
So it is a disappointment to read that we only have 68 of them in Wales. I for one would definitely like to see a good few hundred more.
4 comments:
If I remember correctly, fixed speed cameras are only put up in places with a history of road accidents. Roads are statistically safer in Wales than the vast bulk of Europe and the numbers of injuries and deaths continue to fall year on year.
Of course there are still mobile camera vans out there, but I'd like to see more speed cameras, even if they are only decoys, outside schools (on straight stretches of road) and in 20mph zones.
Once again haven't the UK government pulled a fast one on this, pocketing some of the money while offloading the costs on local authorities/the police?
do they actually save lives..or simply control drivers speeds on those roads on which they are situated?...with drivers immediately speeding up once they have passed the glare of the speed cameras! Its been proved the most effective way of reducing road deaths and accidents is thru the application of speed limits...there are is certainly no need for any driver to need to drive faster than 25 mph in any urban area...and 20 in any built up area!
Leigh Richards
The authorities could also try changing some of those 50 mph speed limits to 40 or 30. We tried that for the road outside a local school. The authority said that the police had confirmed that 50 was perfectly safe.
Our AM then asked the police if they could at least see that people were observing the 50 limit by using a hand held speed gun occasionally. No way said the police, it was too risky for their officers to stand on the pavement there.
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