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January Decision Anticipated for Suffolk Speed Cameras
Article by: robert
Date: 31 Dec 2010
 The East Anglian Daily Times have reported that speed cameras in Suffolk are at risk of being turned off as early as January 2011, when the cabinet will sit to make a final decision. Budget concerns are the driving force behind the issue, as the funding for the speed cameras costs the council nearly £1.2 million a year.
Should the council decide to cut funding to the Suffolk SafeCam Partnership, the county's police would be left with the choice of either footing the bill themselves, or turning the cameras off. The Suffolk police have revealed that no decision has been made one way or the other as to whether they would be able to keep funding the project, or if it would be necessary to solely rely on manual police work.
It's claimed that at the moment, the cameras save an average of 14 lives a year, and prevent up to 80 serious injuries. Before the Partnership was formed in 2003, deaths on Suffolk roads stood at about 60 annually. This year, that number is down to 19.
The Partnership costs £1.5 million a year, with the council paying about 80p in the pound. However, as the cost of a single road fatality can be upwards of £1.6 million in real costs, some might say that the programme has easily paid for itself, even before the actual individuals that the program has saved are taken into account.
Suffolk police have been quick to assure the public that speed limits will still be enforced whether or not the cameras stay, but the question remains for many as to the efficiency of manual police work versus the fixed cameras.
Of course, not ever Suffolk driver will be worried about the possible switch off - the 1,400 drivers fined in 2009 on the back of evidence from a single camera on Henley Road, Ipswich for example, may be inclined to celebrate the move if indeed funding is cut.
| Comments
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 Posted by Skippy on Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:39 pm |
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| News Team Wrote: | | The Partnership costs £1.5 million a year, with the council paying about 80p in the pound. |
According to the Evening Star for the £1.5 million spent in Suffolk you get 6 fixed and 3 mobile cameras. Let's say the cost of a fully equipped Police officer on the beat is £100k/year. Why not scrap the cameras and recruit 15 new Police officers? 
| News Team Wrote: | | However, as the cost of a single road fatality can be upwards of £1.6 million in real costs, some might say that the programme has easily paid for itself, even before the actual individuals that the program has saved are taken into account. |
I've often wondered how they arrive at the £1.6 million cost of a road fatality. Does anyone know how it's calculated? Is this a "up to" figure or an actual average cost per fatality?
Gone fishing! |
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| Posted by dorsetwurzel on Sat Jan 01, 2011 8:41 am |
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Funnily enough a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport costs about £1.6 million (Well, it was when I bought mine). Therefore I think it must be an 'upto' figure including insurance costs!
Happy New year
Tim
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