Speed Cameras Switched Off

Oxfordshire became the latest in a series of councils who have taken the decision to switch off their speed cameras as a result of funding cuts by the government. The measures are an attempt to save £600,000 of an estimated £11m that the council needs to find.

The government claims that such developments signal the clear message that the war on motorists is over, ending its funding of speed cameras and saying that councils need to find other ways to raise money.

Concerns have however been raised by safety organisations who feel the cameras help save lives. Statistics show that every week three people are killed and 150 injured in the Thames Valley region alone. A spokesperson for the council admitted that the ending of the scheme was going to be controversial but that savings had to be made. The similar ending of the much-detested scheme in Swindon last year saw no perceptible rise in the accident rate.

Mike Penning, the governments road safety minister said that the coalition felt that councils had relied too long and too heavily on funding through taxing the motorist through safety cameras and was happy to see some councils were making the choice to remove them and focusing on alternative safety measures instead.

Ellen Booth for the safety campaign organisation Brake said “it would be a disaster if these cuts were passed on in full by County Councils.” She felt that speed cameras were the most cost effective way of controlling speeds on British roads.