Do speed cameras work?

YES, says Philip Gwynne, spokesman for the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership.

There are 40 fixed speed cameras in the Bradford district. Last year, cameras across West Yorkshire raised revenues of more than £3.5 million.

But Phillip Gwynne, head of public affairs at the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, is adamant that the cameras are not a stealth tax geared at motorists.

He said: "Speed cameras are not sited according to how much revenue they can raise but according to how many lives they might save and injuries they might prevent.

"A speed camera placed at the side of the road means people have died or have been seriously injured on that road.

"There are very strict criteria governing where we can put them."

Fixed cameras may only be installed on a road that has a site length between 0.4km and 1.5km and where there have been at least three collisions causing death or serious injury per kilometre in the previous three years.

Apart from fixed camera sites, mobile patrols are also operated in Bradford.

They are carried out by police officers who work with the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership.

Mobile patrols must either provide their own signs to warn motorists of the patrol or position themselves on a route with existing speed camera signs.

The mobile patrols are subject to the same regulations as fixed speed cameras.

Mr Gwynne said that requests for speed cameras often come from the community.

He said: "We get about 500 requests a year from residents and community groups who want the cameras installed on their roads to stop people speeding.

"It's very difficult when we have to tell people that they do not meet the criteria and cannot have the cameras."

Mr Gwynne said people who dislike speed cameras have a simple solution.

"If people didn't speed there would be no need for the cameras," he said.

"To get rid of the cameras, stop speeding. It's simple."

Motorists caught speeding pay for the cameras to be installed and maintained.

"The only people who pay for cameras are those who speed," said Mr Gwynne. "The tax payer does not fund any of the cameras. Revenue generated by the cameras is pumped back into buying more."

Each camera costs about £34,000 and takes about two years to be fully installed and operational.

Mr Gywnne said: "That covers the cost of researching the site to establish its suitability, paying for the camera itself and for it to be installed."

Once positioned at a site the cameras have to be regularly maintained by specially trained technicians and engineers.

All the information the camera collects has to be regularly checked in case a penalty issued is challenged in court.

"We have to ensure that the information the cameras collate are entirely accurate in case the matter comes to court and we are requested to provide evidence," said a technician with the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership.

"The date, time and site number and film number all have to be right."

There are clear Government stipulated requirements covering where and how cameras should be placed and measures to be taken to ensure drivers are aware of them.

"The cameras should all be visible to road users and should not be obscured behind bridges, signs, trees or bushes," said the technician.

"Camera warning and speed limit reminder signs must also be placed in advance of the cameras.

"If we fail to ensure all the guidelines have been met the speeding fine can be challenged."

He said of the speed cameras in Bradford only one in four is operational at any given time but are constantly rotated.

"It's more cost effective to have only some of the cameras operational," he said.

"Many of the cameras are just there as a deterrent. It would cost too much to have them all operational all the time."

The cameras have the capacity to record up to 380 photographs per reel of film.

The film is collected weekly and taken to a secure unit at West Yorkshire police for processing.

Once the film has been verified, the information is then passed to the DVLA which checks who the registered keeper is.

Once that has been done the owner is sent notification of the fixed penalty which must be issued within two weeks of the offence.

Drivers have 28 days to respond either by paying the fixed penalty or confirming their intention to challenge it.

NO, ... says Coroner Roger Whittaker.

Speed cameras are appropriate in some instances but they are not always the answer, according to Bradford Coroner Roger Whittaker.

He said: "I see through the inquests I conduct that in some instances the speed cameras are not as effective as we would hope."

Mr Whittaker said the majority of road deaths that he presides over at inquest are caused by excessive speeds in inappropriate places.

He said: "On some of the roads on which I have had a particular concern or association following an inquest, and where cameras have been provided as a result of those concerns, it is clear that they have not fully answered the problem and speeding still takes place before and after the camera site.

"I see this on my way into Bradford from my home in Ilkley every morning on the stretch between the toll bridge at Ben Rhydding and the Burley by-pass where there are two cameras each way."

Mr Whittaker said the biggest problem with speed cameras is that people drive to them.

"Some motorists, usually the ones we need to be most concerned about, drive to the speed cameras and only slow down at the particular spot that the speed camera is placed, speeding there after," he said.

"This means the speed cameras have no effect on controlling speed other than at the point of camera."

Mr Whittaker said there is no doubt that speed cameras raise a lot of revenue.

He said: "The question is whether we are looking for a solution that is a revenue generator or one that saves lives.

"There are other speed reducing measures that are working very well in other countries."

One such measure is speed sensitive signals, being used in Spain and being piloted for the first time in the US.

The devices involve using pavement loops to detect the speed of a motor vehicle.

If the speed exceeds the speed limit, the traffic signal ahead will display a red light delaying the motorist further.

"It is all about educating and moulding driver behaviour," said Mr Whittaker.

"If people learn that speeding will slow them down then they would be more likely not to speed."

Mr Whittaker has written to the Department of Transport about the speed sensitive signals but so far his recommendations have not been taken up.

"On one particular occasion the Department of Transport's response was that we have a better road safety record than Spain and that they would not consider it," he said.

"It is my fervent hope that this matter could be re-addressed as I feel confident that it would have the desired effect in reducing speed overall."

FACT FILE

• In Bradford motorists are issued with a penalty notice when they drive at ten per cent over the speed limit

• Speed camera warning signs must be positioned within 1km of a fixed camera

• Only one in four cameras has film in at any one time

• The cameras with film are rotated on a regular basis

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