Thursday 13th May 2010

Will Tories Live Up To Speed Camera Pledge?

UK looks to new government for promised action on fixed cameras

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Will Hammond keep Camera pledges?

"We will stop central funding for new fixed speed cameras and focus on better ways to make our roads safe, including authorising 'drugalyser' testing technology.

"Road users have had a raw deal under Labour, so we will:

• Crack down on road works, introducing lane rental for some of our busiest roads
• Give more powers to local councils to get traffic moving
• Crack down on rogue clampers
• Introduce a lorry road user charge, so foreign lorries pay their fair share of tax
• Consult on our Fair Fuel Stabiliser
• Facilitate the switch to green cars by creating a national car recharging network.

"We will free local transport funding from the requirement to introduce congestion charging and create a Transport Carbon Reduction Fund to support green projects such as initiatives to encourage walking, cycling and bus use or measures to help reduce the need for work-related travel - supported by our roll-out of fast broadband... etc. etc."

Local authorities fund many cameras

Outlined above are the pledges the Conservatives made to voters before the election, and which anyone can read today on the party's policy website.

So will be the new Tory-led government live up to its promise to stop spending our taxes on new speed camera schemes? We'll all be watching with interest, particularly as Conservative Phillip Hammond has been appointed Transport Secretary in the new Lib-Con cabinet.

In order to try and work out where we stand today, PistonHeads has asked the Highways Agency for a complete list of the Agency's involvement in existing Speed Camera projects that have yet to be completed and require further central funding, and another list of all planned and/or proposed Speed Camera sites, schemes or projects that will require central funding in order to go ahead.

Satellite spies are waiting in the wings...

Are we right to assume the Tory pledge sounds the death knell for schemes like the nefarious satellite tracking 'Speed Spike' system that's currently on trial? We'll let you know what they tell us...

[2blackhats]

I'd like to think they will honour their pledges, but I can't help thinking that once in govt the lure of all that lovely money from fines will be too strong to resist.
We shall see...

[Jameschillman]

I believe this only counts for regular speed cameras. They are still going to back the roll out of Average Speed Cameras in non-urban areas.

Here is the news article from when they origionally pleged this... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politic...

[callyman]

Hopefully this wasn't promised to secure votes.
Swindon have binned their cameras and road safety has remained unchanged as a result.

[Loose_Cannon]

The Tories and Lib Dems seemed to have such polar opposite approaches to transport, it's the thing that most leaves me wondering how on earth a coalition will work.

[dandarez]

Loose_Cannon said:

The Tories and Lib Dems seemed to have such polar opposite approaches to transport, it's the thing that most leaves me wondering how on earth a coalition will work.

It won't!

I'm amazed at how goggle-eyed everyone is as if this is euphoria, how the 'double C' is going to 'save us'!

This IS the honeymoon period.

Wait till they start emptying your pockets! Theirs, and their ilk will not be emptying theirs, they will be filling them.

Remember when Broon came in his poll rating soared (only because we were all so glad to see the back of the biggest (B)liar in history!

Edited by dandarez on Thursday 13th May 10:35

[Adrian W]

Don't be silly, they're in now!

[ctallchris]

* Crack down on road works, introducing lane rental for some of our busiest roads
excellent although it will mean less efficiency when road manitenance roadworks are made

* Give more powers to local councils to get traffic moving
Right I think they allready have these powers they just don't use them because organising traffic flow requires insanely ocmplex models and expensive consultants

* Crack down on rogue clampers
ok but not a real problem to anyone who knows the law

* Introduce a lorry road user charge, so foreign lorries pay their fair share of tax
excellent

* Consult on our Fair Fuel Stabiliser
I.E. find out it will cost a lot of money and drop the plan

* Facilitate the switch to green cars by creating a national car recharging network.
Excellent but we allready have the network in place it's called the national grid. What we need are standards so you dont end up with a thousand sockets and voltages at each one.

All in all pretty much more of the same excepth the lorry usage (which doesn't pull in significant ammounts of money but does mean forigen truckers wouldn't have a bonus over english ones what's more it should be fairly easy to impliment at the ports just record them coming in and out and bill for the difference if the computer system they put in costs more than £2,000,000 someone needs to have a word with procurement)

As far as local authorities fixing traffic flow it would be an idea to create a central consultancy group with the skills required to make sure things happen because if it's left to the locals authority it will cost a fortune and cause problems later

[JumpinJack]

If only they could change all the badly placed speed cameras, into cameras that alerted the police to uninsured or untaxed vehicles instead...

[MC Bodge]

Given that the economy is in a terrible state, I'd suggest that changes to speed cameras will be conveniently filed/buried under 'low priority' and, if pushed will be justified by 'green issues'....

Ideally the 60mph NSL would be reinstated on rural roads, especially those with average speed cameras on.

[TheRoadWarrior]

Consult on our Fair Fuel Stabiliser

What does this mean?

[Condi]

In an era where we can offer up £15bn to bail out Greece, where oil companies and supermarkets can make multi-billion pound profits, and where we can afford £20bn on a war in Iraq is the revenue generated by speed cameras (£100m) really a make or break income stream for the government? Its useful, I dont doubt, but I think the amount of money it generates in relation to overall government spending is very very small.

[Martin A]

Give more powers to local councils to get traffic moving

Encourage swift removal of illegally parked vehicles?

[magnus911]

TheRoadWarrior said:

Consult on our Fair Fuel Stabiliser

What does this mean?

they want a sliding scale for fuel duty so that when we're paying more for oil, we will pay less duty and vice versa. The idea is we won't go from £1-£1.20/litre so sharply, and they will stabilise. Nice idea, but probably not practical.

[Uncle Fester]

There’s enough ‘weasel words’ in those statements to allow them to do almost anything.

Central funding? Decentralise the funding to councils, allow them to take the flak. Then cut other funding to local councils, thus forcing them to rely upon scamera revenue.

‘Consult’ is political speak for asking you before they ignore you.

Crack down on rogue clampers means charge them more for a licence.

[jayfish]

magnus911 said:

TheRoadWarrior said:

Consult on our Fair Fuel Stabiliser

What does this mean?

they want a sliding scale for fuel duty so that when we're paying more for oil, we will pay less duty and vice versa. The idea is we won't go from £1-£1.20/litre so sharply, and they will stabilise. Nice idea, but probably not practical.

Otherwise know as, when the oil price drops they fail to pass the saving on to the consumer and use the difference to fill their coffers.

[jz325i]

Martin A said:

Give more powers to local councils to get traffic moving

Encourage swift removal of illegally parked vehicles?

I want a system where the bus driver gets fined if the bus comes out of the bus lane (obviously if there's no obstruction). My point is, they always creep out of it, and effectvely turn 2 lanes into one.

[jayfish]

ctallchris said:

* Facilitate the switch to green cars by creating a national car recharging network.
Excellent but we allready have the network in place it's called the national grid. What we need are standards so you dont end up with a thousand sockets and voltages at each one.

National grid? Fine if you live in a house with a drive and your commute is less than half your E-cars range, but not exactly ideal if you live in a flat like i do and often have to park 4 or 5 streets away.

Edited by jayfish on Thursday 13th May 12:14

[anonymous-user]

The fixed cameras I can deal with, but it's the wkers in the vans that are the real tax on the motorist by only appearing every few weeks to catch people out. I refuse to believe that they improve road safety.

[Antj]

proabably not as the coalition will put a stop to the radical ideas.

Its started already as they promised to scrap the FSA and on first day of power they said it was staying but would now report into BOE as its main boss.

[timbo48]

Giving more powers to local councils to keep traffic moving. Perhaps the given powers should include lessons in what moving traffic actually looks like! In Southampton it will probably mean even more stupidly positioned traffic lights than we have already.