It is a year since Swindon deactivated its speed cameras, the first council to do so, and the casualty results of the first 9 months are now available.
Data reveals there were 315 road casualties, compared with 327 in the same period the previous year. Fatality rates also dropped: two compared with four in the same period last year. The serious injury rate also declined to 44, down from 48.
Swindon local councillor Peter Greenhalgh, told the Telegraph newspaper: “I think our decision has been vindicated because here in Swindon we have seen a slight fall in the number of accidents. We have been able to invest the money we were spending on cameras in other physical road safety measures such as vehicle-activated warning signs.”I’m not going to claim that everywhere should turn off their cameras but there are a lot of cameras around the country that aren’t delivering the results in road safety that everyone would want.”
Other regions in the UK have followed Swindon’s initiative; Buckingham, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire have already started dismantling their speed camera networks, though their police forces will continue to use mobile speed measuring devices.
MAG has always said that education, improved driver training and generating attitudinal change, are much more effective at reducing casualties than speed cameras. However, as something that requires investment but that won’t produce immediate revenue, we realise those options are not something cash strapped administrations are likely to embrace.