An end to speed cameras?
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by political editor Paul Francis
Councils have been told they will have
to pay for new speed cameras under a future Conservative government
and reveal how much each camera raises from fines.
Shadow transport secretary Theresa
Villiers said she would move to stop the "relentless expansion" in
speed cameras, end Government funding for new ones and force
councils to prove that where they wanted more cameras, they were
the only option available.
Councils would be forced to say how
much money from fines was raised from each camera individual camera
site - something that has not been disclosed before.
Ms Villiers said: "I believe that
fixed speed cameras have reached their high watermark in this
country. It’s time to put a stop to Labour’s cash cow camera
culture. It’s time to say, ‘enough is enough’."
Under Tory plans, the Kent and Medway
Safety Camera Partnership, which was set up in 2002 and has a
budget of about £3.2million, would be axed and councils given the
responsibility.
The Kent and Medway Safety Camera
Partnership did not comment but issued a statement from the
Association of Chief Police Officers.
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It said that cameras had been
successful in cutting accidents and improving safety.
"In appropriately chosen locations,
safety cameras are a proven success story in reducing the numbers
of people killed or seriously injured on the roads. Independently
compiled research has borne this out over a long period. The most
successful camera is one which encourages drivers to abide by the
speed limit and therefore generates no revenue at all."
Read Paul
Francis' blog on speed cameras here>>>
County politicians gave a cautious
reaction. Cllr Nick Chard (Con), KCC cabinet member for highways,
said it should be for councils not the Government to decide where
cameras should be and if more were needed.
"Where there are local problems,
there should be local solutions. Where cameras have been shown to
reduce accidents, they have been welcomed."
He accepted it was important not to
regard speed cameras as the only option.
"We should be using more education
schemes and a whole range of other initiatives."
In 2008, cameras in Kent detected
50,000 offences and since the partnership was set up, there has
been a 63 per cent reduction in the number of people killed or
seriously injured at safety camera sites.
Wednesday, October 07 2009
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