Would you like your council to dump their speed cameras...?

Question

Swindon Borough Council have decided to discontinue use of speed cameras in their area in order to spend their money on locally targeted traffic calming schemes. They complain that, although they have to pay £400,000 per year to keep the cameras running, that all funds raised via fines is taken by Whitehall directly and they reckon the use of speed cameras is nothing more than a tax-grabbing scheme on motorists.

Local Labour MP Anne Snelgrove is complaining that the council is putting lives at risk and is campaigning to 'save our speed cameras'.

Do you think the council is right to take this action? Or are they putting people in danger? Would you like your council to follow suit?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2300859/Council-becomes-first-to-ditch-speed-cameras.html

Answer 1

Fixed speed cameras are useless - you just slow down when aproaching one. If you are in an area you dont know and dont see when you are passing one, then as soon as you see the lines on the road, you stamp on the breaks, even if you are within the speed limit.

Answer 2

Given that half the cameras don't have any tapes in them I don't see the point of having them anyway. And those regular speeders know this. Also where they are fully activated cameras these speeders are fly enough to slow down and as soon as they are out of the cameras range they just start speeding again. So it's pointless having them on minor roads. The only effective solution are regular speed campaigns whereby a speed gun is aimed directly at the passing motorist.



Speed calming does work but I have seen serious nasty accidents caused by stupid sods trying to dodge the calming. There are also a potential hazard to pedestrians and the humps cause damage to the cars.



I do not know what the answer is as drivers young and old alike have more power to their motoring elbow and it must be very hard for these youngsters not to give it some welly.



What upsets me is opening my local newspaper every week to the news that yet another motorist has been maimed or killed through dangerous driving.

Answer 3

Jb ----- Has the best Idea of addressing the Worry about safety. However the present aims of setting up Road CCTV cameras are without doubt and a means of entrapment for imposing fines .A motorist 's front wheels stopping at a Box junction but the front wheels over run the stop line by a foot does not compromise Safety or obstruction . Yet a Penalty notice of £60.00 is issued . Even if the set up of such a Junction was shown to be set up illegally IE not conforming to agreed markings ; even if it was shown to be the wrong type of Box Junction ,even if the Towns Councillors have shown it to be unnecessary for the location. One such a single box junction is shown to be so misplaced among a number of other factors that confused Motorists have had to shell out in PCNs over the previous 12 months alone . One Million Pounds in fine (Just this one Junction ) I could go on and list a number of serious and deliberately placed road markings and CCTV cameras that are used to rake in the revenue for a west London Town government . I agree 100% CCTV cameras are being misused to back up money extraction from fines . Local Governments will in future invent various ways to extract Money through punitive Fines regardless of what Common sense dictates. Fines should only be The role of our justice system .

Answer 4

Well done Swindon council put your own cameras in or other methods if you have a speed problem and keep the money raised to help your local community this is how it should be used.

Answer 5

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't realise that all of the money raised by speed cameras went straight to the exchequer.Well done to Swindon and I hope that their thoughtful approach will be emulated by many more councils throughout the country.

Answer 6

If they ban speed cameras they will look for other ways to claw back lost revenue, my miff is that even if you rarely get caught speeding you get three points, for persistent offenders yes but once in 10 years definitely not.

Answer 7

Well done Swindon Council. I think every town should have a "Magic Roundabout"!

Answer 8

no, I would like a speed camera put in my road

Answer 9

Leave them up and operating.

Answer 10

Leave them up and running!!