My local paper has reported:
Speed cameras across Norfolk are set to be switched off as a cost-cutting measure. Councillors approved plans to withdraw the budget for the safety devices at a meeting of the environment, transport and development scrutiny panel meeting today at County Hall in Norwich.
This would mean that all fixed speed cameras would be turned off or removed and that mobile enforcement vans would also be taken out of service.
Police officers would retain the authority to stop and charge speeders, but with the force also facing cuts it is unclear what level of enforcement they would be able to provide.
In a report to councillors, director of environment, transport and development, Mike Jackson, admitted that traffic speeds would be likely to increase without speed cameras and that “more people may be killed or seriously injured in the county”.
In effect, at the behest of the Taxpayer’s Alliance and their lunatic friends in the ConDem government all regulation of traffic speed has ended in Norfolk.
Children on their way to school will die as a result.
More people will die in accidents as a result.
The demand on the NHS will rise as a result.
But libertarian driven cuts demand that we have the right to drive recklessly so we can kill.
This is sick. No other word describes it adequately.
I hope those councillors who voted in favour are forced to attend the funerals of those who will die as a result of their decision.
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Absolutely – total insanity and a complete cave-in to Jeremy Clarkson and the motoring lobby. But hey, as long as we can drive our gas-guzzlers at 80mph down country roads, what’s a few dead kids?
👿
2008-2009 Norfolk CC added 78 staff paid 50-60K. Fire 7 of them and you’ve got your 400 grand for your cameras back. Or ask all 373 of them to take a 1K pay cut.
http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/Consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/ncc072169.pdf
@Noel Scoper
As ever – you deliver a totally unthinking response
The answer is to increase fines on speeding motorists, of course
@Richard Murphy
If you want the fines to fund the cameras, then you must have speeding. (NCC shows income from fines was about equal to costs, then falling as cameras “worked”). If cameras do work, you won’t get speeding so you don’t get any income to pay for the cameras. Cameras really do need to appear as safety devices and not revenue generators to gain acceptance.
Perhaps just give points on the license. Loss of a license (or any points at all for anything these days) adds a huge amount to one’s car insurance. That is more of a problem (so deters speeding) for most motorists than the fine that goes with the speeding offence. Tell your insurance company you were caught even doing 35 mph in a 30 zone and that’s the perfect excuse to increase the premium.
I always used to be shocked that drink driving gave only a 1 year ban until a friend actually had one. The one year ban basically meant he couldn’t get anyone to insure him even after the conviction was spent. A better punishment and deterrent than a short ban. The market had decided he was too much of a risk.
I suspect it has more to do with the fact that the camera operators are not allowed to keep the revenue any more. It is certainly not government policy to stop policing traffic. BUT more to the point, the evidence for a causal link between traffic accidents and speed cameras is at best mixed.
@alastair
Yeh yeh
Too much Clarkson
Now get real
I’m intrigued about your Clarkson fixation, but the evidence such as it is has nothing to do with him.
I’m tending to agree with Richard here (it doesn’t happen very often I know!). I think speed cameras are a great deterrent and probably (I haven’t seen any statistics) play a part reducing road accidents. I think they should be kept even if there is a small price to pay (if the camera fines aren’t funding their upkeep).