Are UK speed cameras being used to raise money rather than save lives?

New data from the Government indicates that many of the nation’s speed cameras are merely used as a means of raising extra cash rather than saving lives and reducing the number of accidents on the roads.

Road safety campaigners are calling for the removal of all speed cameras with the aim of reintroducing effective police patrols that enable drivers to use their own assessment of risk.

Claire Armstrong, co-founder of Safe Speed, said: "Our best road safety asset is the driver. The basis for the setting of speed limits has changed, so that the limits are no longer an indication of the predictability of hazard density.

"Wrongly set limits encourage drivers to use the speed limits as their safety limits.

"Speed cameras have been deliberately placed after accidents rates have spiked, and the expected casualty reduction is then wrongly attributed to speed cameras."

On the flip side, transport safety officials believe speed cameras remain an important part of the speed management process.

Robert Gifford, executive director of Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said: "Different types of speed camera can have different benefits. The fixed camera is a visual roadside reminder that, at some point, someone has made a fatal mistake.

"DfT advice, after all, makes clear that they should only be placed where there has been a history of fatal or serious crashes, where non-compliance with the speed limit is an identified problem and where no other engineering solution is possible.

"Time over distance cameras are effective in different circumstances: where roadside workers are at risk on motorways and where there is a need to control speed on long stretches of urban road.

"Managing speed means that we reduce the risk to those able to look after themselves: children, cyclists and older pedestrians. Cameras are part but not all of that management process."

With speed said to be a contributory factor in almost a third of all road crashes, the role of retrieving accident-damaged or end-of-life vehicles remains an important one.

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Average UK driver speeds 18,000 times in their lifetime

Just four speeding offences can earn you an automatic driving ban, but the average UK motorist speeds an astonishing 18,000 times in their lifetime.

New research from Gocompare.com reveals some thought-provoking statistics about the lifetime actions of the average motorist at the wheel. The statistics suggest that although many motorists feel victimised by speed cameras, many of us should consider slowing down an extra few miles per hour each day.

The average driver is said to have as many as 81 near misses in their lifetime, with 35 minor accidents involving scraping bumpers and parking 'dings' which occur accidentally without malice.

If we needed proof that Britain’s roads were becoming ever more congested then the fact that statistically we are stuck in traffic for more than three weeks of our lifetime says it all!

Traffic congestion is a major concern especially in the summer holiday season with children on their school summer break. Consequently road safety charity Brake is urging drivers to respect 20mph zones in busy, congested urban areas.

Julie Townsend, campaigns director of Brake, said: "We all want to life in safe communities where everyone is able to get out and about. Unfortunately many children can’t do this without having to negotiate streets plagued with fast traffic that poses a serious risk to their safety.

"It’s time that all drivers took responsibility and slowed down to 20mph or below when driving in communities, so everyone, especially children, get to enjoy their local neighbourhood safely.

"We’re also calling on local authorities to follow the lead of places like Portsmouth and put in place more widespread 20mph limits, which are a cost effective way to help make our communities safer, healthier, more family-friendly places."

It does not matter whether you’re driving a brand new car straight from a dealership or a second-hand run-around from an online salvage auction, drivers should drive with extra diligence in built-up estates to avoid disastrous accidents.

Drivers keen to see motorway limit raised to 80mph

The latest survey by the Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) has revealed almost three-quarters of Britain’s drivers are keen to see the speed limit on UK motorways raised to 80mph from the existing 70mph limit.

Over 70 per cent of the 2,000-plus motorists surveyed believed they would be far more likely to stick to the speed limit if it was raised to 80mph.

As a result of the existing speed limit almost two-thirds of respondents admitted to driving above 70mph when traffic is free-flowing on motorways, while a fifth even confessed to driving 80mph or faster.

Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM, said: “Even though motorways are the safest roads, increasing the motorway speed limit is a controversial subject. This is why we want to see a trial to test its impact on road safety, fuel consumption and driver behaviour.

“A new 80 miles per hour limit would need to be properly enforced to make sure that it does not become an excuse to drive at 90.”

A supporting study by the Department for Transport highlighted that over half (52 per cent) of vehicles break the 70mph limit in free-flowing motorway traffic. There is nothing to suggest that this attitude would change if the speed limit was raised to 80mph.

Motorists who rack up the miles on the nation’s motorways will be looking for cost-effective ways to maintain their vehicles. The used car parts industry is one of the most rapidly expanding automotive sectors and at ASM Auto Recycling we proudly supply used car parts for almost any vehicle, anywhere in the world!

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