Speed camera fines in Bristol have risen 11-fold in a decade but accidents have not fallen, it has been reported. The Evening Post looked at the number of accidents recorded at fixed camera sites last year and found that it was in fact more than in 1998.
In 2007 there were 150 accidents and a decade ago in 1998 148 accidents were logged. Meanwhile the money collected by Avon and Somerset has spiralled from £290,000 in 1997 to £3.15 million in 2006.
The Post looked at accident figures posted on the Safecam website and struggled to find places where there has been a clear downturn in accidents. Some areas had risen in the years since the fixed cameras were installed.
On the A4 at Saltford Hill there were an average of two accidents a year in the three years before 2001, when a Gatso camera was installed. Since then, the average has been three a year. On the A4 at Brislington Hill a Gatso was installed in 1994 and in 1998 there were 17 accidents. In 2000 there were 29 accidents and there were 23 last year.
Regional spokesman for campaign group the Association of British Drivers Hugh Blaydon said: 'Cameras don't work – we need police back on the roads. This demonstrates that speed camera fines are nothing but a stealth tax. Cameras are a complete and almost total failure.
'They have not made our roads any safer and that's because speed is not a contributory factor in the majority of accidents. They cannot attribute falls in deaths and serious accidents to speed cameras.'
David Gollicker, a spokesman for the Avon and Somerset Safety Camera Partnership – which was set up in 2002 – said: 'As an organisation, our revenue is decreasing and has been for a number of years. We've now sent 100,000 people caught speeding at just over 30mph to workshops to improve their driving. None of those fines has gone to the Government because those £60 fines pay for the course.'
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