Bath Evening Chronicle gets in on the act
Discussion
SPEED CAMERAS SHOULD FOCUS ON ACCIDENT SITES
ONLY one of the top ten accident blackspots in the Bath area is covered by a speed camera.
The finding has fuelled accusations that safety camera officials may have got their priorities wrong.
Most of the worst spots in the district are junctions rather then stretches of road which are notorious for speeding.
The Avon and Somerset Safety Camera Partnership has said its aim is to improve safety on the roads. But with a growing tide of anti-speed camera sentiment among motorists, the organisation has come under fire for its work and its staff are subjected to regular abuse.
Today an arm of the RAC added its concern to the debate as a campaign in Autocar magazine called Britain's cameras an £150m failure.
Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, told Autocar that younger men caused more accidents, but middle-aged men were more likely to be caught on camera.
Many motoring organisations believe that speed is not at the heart of most accidents, and that poor road surfaces, bad road design and a lack of driver training are the biggest factors.
They have said that speed limits have actually had a negative effect on road safety because drivers are too busy watching their speedometers and not keeping their eyes on the road.
Bath and North East Somerset Council, which has a statutory duty to reduce accidents on the roads, records where, when and why accidents happen and produces a list of sites where there have been more than five casualties in three years.
Of the top ten, only one, the Keynsham bypass, is monitored by a safety camera.
Others are at junctions where speed is unlikely to be the cause of the accident.
Mark McArthur-Christie, of the Association of British Drivers, said the idea of speed-related hotspots was a myth.
He said the main cause of accidents was driver inattention, and that education and road engineering were the way forward.
The Government message that 'speed kills' had had a negative impact on safety because it lured motorists into thinking all they had to do was stick to the speed limit when there were other more important factors, he said.
Speed limits could also cause sudden braking or reckless overtaking.
"If people have been involved in driver training courses they are 75 per cent less likely to have an accident" he said.
"Motorways are our fastest roads and they are our safest."
Sociology lecturer Alan Buckingham, of Bath Spa University College, is currently in Australia talking about his research into speed cameras.
His report said that the 'speed kills' philosophy was flawed because there was no direct relationship between speed and deaths on the roads.
Nick Jeanes, of the council's traffic and safety team, said there were a number of reasons why the worst accident blackspots may not be monitored by a camera.
He said the council recorded all accidents not just speed-related ones, that cameras often covered a length of road rather than a specific site, and that a camera may not be the solution for that particular problem.
He added that because B & NES had a low casualty rate, about 500 per year, each blackspot did not have a large amount of accidents compared to other authority areas.
Dave Gollicker, spokesman for the Avon and Somerset Safety Partnership, said that cameras and red-light cameras were installed only at sites where strict criteria were met.
He said speed may be less of an issue in Bath due to congestion.
"Bath is fairly congested, but I'm sure there are areas where there are speed problems," he added.
"We work with the local authority. They set those limits and if they have a problem they will highlight it to us.
There are rules and we do follow them."
ONLY one of the top ten accident blackspots in the Bath area is covered by a speed camera.
The finding has fuelled accusations that safety camera officials may have got their priorities wrong.
Most of the worst spots in the district are junctions rather then stretches of road which are notorious for speeding.
The Avon and Somerset Safety Camera Partnership has said its aim is to improve safety on the roads. But with a growing tide of anti-speed camera sentiment among motorists, the organisation has come under fire for its work and its staff are subjected to regular abuse.
Today an arm of the RAC added its concern to the debate as a campaign in Autocar magazine called Britain's cameras an £150m failure.
Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, told Autocar that younger men caused more accidents, but middle-aged men were more likely to be caught on camera.
Many motoring organisations believe that speed is not at the heart of most accidents, and that poor road surfaces, bad road design and a lack of driver training are the biggest factors.
They have said that speed limits have actually had a negative effect on road safety because drivers are too busy watching their speedometers and not keeping their eyes on the road.
Bath and North East Somerset Council, which has a statutory duty to reduce accidents on the roads, records where, when and why accidents happen and produces a list of sites where there have been more than five casualties in three years.
Of the top ten, only one, the Keynsham bypass, is monitored by a safety camera.
Others are at junctions where speed is unlikely to be the cause of the accident.
Mark McArthur-Christie, of the Association of British Drivers, said the idea of speed-related hotspots was a myth.
He said the main cause of accidents was driver inattention, and that education and road engineering were the way forward.
The Government message that 'speed kills' had had a negative impact on safety because it lured motorists into thinking all they had to do was stick to the speed limit when there were other more important factors, he said.
Speed limits could also cause sudden braking or reckless overtaking.
"If people have been involved in driver training courses they are 75 per cent less likely to have an accident" he said.
"Motorways are our fastest roads and they are our safest."
Sociology lecturer Alan Buckingham, of Bath Spa University College, is currently in Australia talking about his research into speed cameras.
His report said that the 'speed kills' philosophy was flawed because there was no direct relationship between speed and deaths on the roads.
Nick Jeanes, of the council's traffic and safety team, said there were a number of reasons why the worst accident blackspots may not be monitored by a camera.
He said the council recorded all accidents not just speed-related ones, that cameras often covered a length of road rather than a specific site, and that a camera may not be the solution for that particular problem.
He added that because B & NES had a low casualty rate, about 500 per year, each blackspot did not have a large amount of accidents compared to other authority areas.
Dave Gollicker, spokesman for the Avon and Somerset Safety Partnership, said that cameras and red-light cameras were installed only at sites where strict criteria were met.
He said speed may be less of an issue in Bath due to congestion.
"Bath is fairly congested, but I'm sure there are areas where there are speed problems," he added.
"We work with the local authority. They set those limits and if they have a problem they will highlight it to us.
There are rules and we do follow them."
See my post here www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=66482&f=10&h=0 on the subject. We've been sending this story out across as many news organisations as possible - it's made a few of the nationals, radio and TV.
BBC Points West Tonight: Contending the % of accidents caused by speed its 3%!!!!!!!!!!!.
Good mainstream article making mince meat of the scamera partnership figures.
Plus bit about a chap demonstrating theres no cameras in the high street/high risk areas but there are in the low risk newly added 40 limits.
At last we are seeing sense, plus there was a phone poll - can't wait for the results.
Good mainstream article making mince meat of the scamera partnership figures.
Plus bit about a chap demonstrating theres no cameras in the high street/high risk areas but there are in the low risk newly added 40 limits.
At last we are seeing sense, plus there was a phone poll - can't wait for the results.
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