We’ve all heard the excuses, speed cameras are a stealth tax, they’re a money making “scam”, they distract your attention from the road.But despite all the negative reports about Gatso speed cameras, the figures prove that they do save lives. In 2007 there were 139 fewer deaths on Lancashire’s roads than 2006.
This has come, however, with a 500% increase in mobile and static cameras in Lancashire, and the issuing of 502,000 speeding tickets, only 60,000 less than the total number of cars on Lancashire’s roads.
At a cost of between £20,000 and £40,000 per camera and over 4000 cameras on the roads, the cost to the UK Taxpayer is staggering.
Estimates by insurance company Swift Cover say that speed cameras cost the nations motorists £150million per year in increased insurance premiums, fines and tickets. There are also claims that speed cameras cause drivers to erratically “yo-yo” between speed cameras, only slowing down when a camera comes into view, and that when cameras are by the side o
f the road they distract the motorist.Despite the proliferation of sites decrying speed cameras as either a stealth tax, a cash machine for the government or even a dangerous distraction, official figures support the fact that they save lives, and that the public recognise this.
Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety surveyed 401 Lancashire motorists and found that over half agree there are fewer accidents on roads where cameras are installed. Just over a third thought cameras were there to make money, but almost three quarters of respondents felt that primary aim of speed cameras was to save lives.
For a list of speed cameras in your area and a map of their locations, click here.
Picture credits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8106654@N06/2127948641/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pikerslanefarm/2428232674/
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