Utter crap from Avon and Somerset
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The brass neck of these people is just astonishing...
www.thisisbath.com/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=163311&command=displayContent&sourceNode=163059&home=yes&contentPK=12165138
THE SPEED CAMERAS ON YOUR DOORSTEP
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BY BEN MURCH
11:00 - 05 April 2005
Potentially dangerous roads which have not yet become accident black- spots are to be targeted by mobile speed camera crews. Checks will be made at 13 spots in the Bath area which do not qualify for regular patrols on their accident record alone, but where residents believe speeding poses a serious threat to public safety.
Under Government regulations, fixed speed cameras can be placed only where there have been at least four crashes involving death or serious injury in the past three years, while mobile units can operate only where there have been at least two such crashes.
But Department for Transport rules do allow mobile camera teams which operate from marked vans to spend up to 15 per cent of their time checking speeds in areas of "community concern".
The sites identified in Bath, Bathwick, Batheaston, Bathford, Keynsham, Tunley, Midford and Hinton Charterhouse, where residents fear serious accidents will eventually occur if drivers do not slow down, are among 70 across Avon and Somerset to be earmarked for speed checks.
They were recommended to the Avon, Somerset and Gloucester- shire Safety Camera Partnership, which operates the region's camera network, by local councils.
Sgt Mel Small, of the partnership, said: "Speeding traffic causes a number of problems for local communities. It divides villages and towns and is a hazard to local residents, particularly the elderly and children.
"Hopefully the presence of the mobile safety camera crews at these identified community concern sites will act as a deterrent to those drivers who, despite all the advice and warnings, drive at an excessive speed through built-up areas, increasing the risk of a crash which could result in deaths or injuries.
"We know that the regular presence of a camera team does reduce average traffic speeds and the risk of accidents."
The camera teams use white Ford Galaxy vans which are marked with red and yellow diagonal stripes at the back in an attempt to make them obvious. Temporary road signs are also put out to warn drivers that a speed check point is coming up.
The community concern sites being monitored in the Bath area are: Lansdown Road, Bath; Warminster Road, Bath; North Road, Bathwick; Bathwick Hill; Batheaston High Street; Bannerdown Road, Batheaston; Widcombe Hill, Widcombe; Bathford High Street; Charlton Road, Keynsham; Wellsway, Keynsham; B3115, Tunley; B3110, Midford; B3110, Hinton Charterhouse.
The effectiveness of fixed speed checks was brought into question last week after figures released to The Bath Chronicle revealed nearly 4,000 drivers had been flouting the 50mph limit on the Batheaston-Swainswick Bypass by 10mph or more every day, despite the presence of two permanent safety cameras.
But figures from other cameras, including those operating at Whiteway Road, Saltford Hill, and Green Park Road, showed motorists were beginning to curb their speed. The safety camera partnership says that the number of casualties fell by 16 per cent on stretches of road covered by cameras last year.
Fixed cameras in Bath and North East Somerset include those at Whiteway Road and Saltford and the two on the bypass.
A camera is due to begin operating at London Road in the next few weeks after being installed by the partnership following concerns over speeding at certain periods when the A4 is clear, and worries over junction safety.
Mobile units already operate at Green Park Road, Newbridge Road, Bear Flat, and the A4 at Hicks Gate in Keynsham.
Information on the location of permanent and mobile safety camera teams is available up to seven days in advance from the partnership's website www.safecam.org.uk .
www.thisisbath.com/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=163311&command=displayContent&sourceNode=163059&home=yes&contentPK=12165138
THE SPEED CAMERAS ON YOUR DOORSTEP
More News | Back to home page
BY BEN MURCH
11:00 - 05 April 2005
Potentially dangerous roads which have not yet become accident black- spots are to be targeted by mobile speed camera crews. Checks will be made at 13 spots in the Bath area which do not qualify for regular patrols on their accident record alone, but where residents believe speeding poses a serious threat to public safety.
Under Government regulations, fixed speed cameras can be placed only where there have been at least four crashes involving death or serious injury in the past three years, while mobile units can operate only where there have been at least two such crashes.
But Department for Transport rules do allow mobile camera teams which operate from marked vans to spend up to 15 per cent of their time checking speeds in areas of "community concern".
The sites identified in Bath, Bathwick, Batheaston, Bathford, Keynsham, Tunley, Midford and Hinton Charterhouse, where residents fear serious accidents will eventually occur if drivers do not slow down, are among 70 across Avon and Somerset to be earmarked for speed checks.
They were recommended to the Avon, Somerset and Gloucester- shire Safety Camera Partnership, which operates the region's camera network, by local councils.
Sgt Mel Small, of the partnership, said: "Speeding traffic causes a number of problems for local communities. It divides villages and towns and is a hazard to local residents, particularly the elderly and children.
"Hopefully the presence of the mobile safety camera crews at these identified community concern sites will act as a deterrent to those drivers who, despite all the advice and warnings, drive at an excessive speed through built-up areas, increasing the risk of a crash which could result in deaths or injuries.
"We know that the regular presence of a camera team does reduce average traffic speeds and the risk of accidents."
The camera teams use white Ford Galaxy vans which are marked with red and yellow diagonal stripes at the back in an attempt to make them obvious. Temporary road signs are also put out to warn drivers that a speed check point is coming up.
The community concern sites being monitored in the Bath area are: Lansdown Road, Bath; Warminster Road, Bath; North Road, Bathwick; Bathwick Hill; Batheaston High Street; Bannerdown Road, Batheaston; Widcombe Hill, Widcombe; Bathford High Street; Charlton Road, Keynsham; Wellsway, Keynsham; B3115, Tunley; B3110, Midford; B3110, Hinton Charterhouse.
The effectiveness of fixed speed checks was brought into question last week after figures released to The Bath Chronicle revealed nearly 4,000 drivers had been flouting the 50mph limit on the Batheaston-Swainswick Bypass by 10mph or more every day, despite the presence of two permanent safety cameras.
But figures from other cameras, including those operating at Whiteway Road, Saltford Hill, and Green Park Road, showed motorists were beginning to curb their speed. The safety camera partnership says that the number of casualties fell by 16 per cent on stretches of road covered by cameras last year.
Fixed cameras in Bath and North East Somerset include those at Whiteway Road and Saltford and the two on the bypass.
A camera is due to begin operating at London Road in the next few weeks after being installed by the partnership following concerns over speeding at certain periods when the A4 is clear, and worries over junction safety.
Mobile units already operate at Green Park Road, Newbridge Road, Bear Flat, and the A4 at Hicks Gate in Keynsham.
Information on the location of permanent and mobile safety camera teams is available up to seven days in advance from the partnership's website www.safecam.org.uk .
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