NEW SPEED CAMERA RULES - BLUNDERING ON
31 January 2006 - Safe Speed

Department for Transport (DfT) has published new rules for speed camera partnerships today. Unbelievably, sites where it is ''dangerous to speed'' are still excluded.

Safe Speed first revealed the ''rules blunder'' in January 2004. They select sites where responsible motorists are speeding and exclude sites where no responsible motorists are speeding. Because of this they do not enforce in, say, narrow village high streets, where they would catch the occasional nutter. They ONLY enforce in places where driving in excess of the speed limit is safe and appropriate.

It is this ''rules blunder'' that causes the widespread perception that speed cameras are in the wrong places.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign (www.safespeed.org.uk) said: ''The incompetence and mismanagement behind the speed camera programme is breathtaking. They have misused speed cameras to the point that public confidence has evaporated.''

''The ''rules blunder'' ensures that the misuse will continue. Cameras may only be placed only placed where routine speeding is safe.

''The continual confusion between safe behaviour and legal behaviour is misdirecting everyone''s road safety efforts. We must encourage safe behaviours rather than those that are merely legal.''

''The speed camera programme is to road safety what a hammer is to clock repair - it''s blunt and heavy and does far more harm than good.''

''The only answer now is to remove all speed cameras from UK roads, and rebuild road safety based on psychologically effective policies.''

''Appendix H of the 4th year report (published December 15th 2005 by DfT) suggests that speed camera effectiveness has been overestimated by 400%, and even that has not considered the wide ranging deadly side effects. When the side effects are eventually evaluated it will become clear how many people are dying due to the fatally flawed policy.''

www.safespeed.org.uk

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