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Speed Cameras Reprieved, Reconsidered, Axed and Anticipated
Article by: robert
Date: 7 Nov 2010
 This week sees more speed cameras being put out to pasture, but we also "welcome" back many cameras into the fold after their short break.
Fixed speed cameras on the Isle of Wight have now been switched off as a result of the recent government budget cuts, but as Darren reported in this weeks newsletter (see our latest newsletter here and to receive future newsletters use the "Free Email Updates" box in the left panel), the big news of the week is Oxford's decision to switch their 72 fixed cameras back on. The u-turn follows protests from road safety groups and residents and it's believed that the cameras will be reactivated in a number of weeks.
Additionally, subsequent to Buckinghamshire County Council's announcement in August that the county's speed cameras faced cutbacks, this decision is now under review and awaiting completion of a speed monitoring check.
But This is Somerset has reported that although some cameras in their area are being mothballed, residents will soon see the mother of all cameras on their roads in the not to distant future. Following the news that Wiltshire Safety Camera Partnership has shut their camera network down and Somerset, Gloucestershire and Dorset have scaled back, west England police forces anticipate delivery of new "super speed cameras" called "ASSETs" (Advance Safety and Driver Support for Essential Road Transport) within the next two years.
The new mobile cameras will be mounted on trailers and, aside from issuing speed tickets, they can record and automatically fine...
* Drivers not wearing a seatbelt
* Vehicles driving too close to the car in front
* Vehicles with out-of-date tax discs
* Vehicles with no insurance
Of course it's just as likely that these cameras will be rolled out nationwide. But what about the budget cuts I hear you shout? Apparently, the "ASSET is being funded with over £7 million of European Commission money.
It may just pay for itself though. It won't have escaped many people's attention that this super speed camera will also do a "super" job of earning far more revenue than the present, humble cameras could only dream about. Tax by the back door has often been the argument against speed cameras - is a big-brother prosecution machine going to stop that argument?
Will the additional deterrents that aim to reduce potential accidents and prosecute several motoring offences in one go win more of the public over?
| Comments
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 Posted by AliOnHols on Sun Nov 07, 2010 1:49 pm |
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If anybody with any government money to spare is reading this, I'll sit by the road-side with a digital camera, a lap-top and and a speed gun for £6million for the next 10 years. I'll happily travel all over the country choosing different locations too. So, save yourselves a £million and give me a call.
Garmin Nuvi 2599
Android with CamerAlert, OsmAnd+, Waze & TT Europe.
TomTom GO 730, GO 930, GO 940 & Rider2.
SatMap Active 10 & 20. |
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| Posted by spook51 on Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:13 pm |
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Perhaps Somerset County Council reducing its roads budget by 72% has something to do with the introduction of these cameras there.
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| Posted by Larok on Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:04 am |
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The ASSETT cameras sound great! Tailgaters do my nut in. Those with financial objections can rest assured that the amount of money spent on treating cancer provides about a fifth of the return on life years saved than the spend on traffic cams.
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| Posted by Skippy on Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:57 am |
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| Larok Wrote: | | The ASSETT cameras sound great! Tailgaters do my nut in. Those with financial objections can rest assured that the amount of money spent on treating cancer provides about a fifth of the return on life years saved than the spend on traffic cams. |
Ahh, there's no financial objection to the cost of running speed cameras, they don't cost anything to run - they make a fortune in fines.
But what if I tailgate so close that the camera can't see my number plate though. What then? 
Gone fishing! |
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| Posted by AliOnHols on Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:15 am |
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I do have financial objections. I think that £7m is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on speed cameras. I'd rather have £7m worth of more police officers out on the streets doing police officer stuff including traffic duties.
Garmin Nuvi 2599
Android with CamerAlert, OsmAnd+, Waze & TT Europe.
TomTom GO 730, GO 930, GO 940 & Rider2.
SatMap Active 10 & 20. |
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| Posted by M8TJT on Tue Nov 09, 2010 7:59 am |
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| Skippy Wrote: | | Ahh, there's no financial objection to the cost of running speed cameras, they don't cost anything to run - they make a fortune in fines. |
If this were the case, then surely the government would not let councils switch them off and miss this obvious trick to extract cash from the motorist? Is it not that the running costs are, for some unexplained reason, high, and now more than the grant thatncouncils receive from the government from the fines that they raise?
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| Posted by spook51 on Tue Nov 09, 2010 9:12 am |
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| AliOnHols Wrote: | | I do have financial objections. I think that £7m is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on speed cameras. I'd rather have £7m worth of more police officers out on the streets doing police officer stuff including traffic duties. |
ASSET is not a speed camera, it is an integrated traffic monitoring system capable of identifying a number of infringements including, in its advanced configuration, over-weight lorries and also technical problems: over-heating wheel bearings and brakes for example.
I suspect many drivers would welcome its ability to identify uninsured vehicles or overloaded trucks. To consider and dismiss it as a speed camera is wrong.
Lots more info here: http://www.project-asset.com/index1.php?lan=en
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| Posted by Graculus on Tue Nov 09, 2010 11:45 am |
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| spook51 Wrote: | | To consider and dismiss it as a speed camera is wrong. |
So why does the press article consider it as a speed camera? Lazy journalism once again, methinks.
Ah, so it's a "concept", not actually a fully working system yet. I would suspect that the first generation talked about will not do all the wonderful things advertised. Also, looking at the link, I see that it depends on a lot more than just a few cameras, but all sorts of other sensors, and having RFID chips on your number plate, and the ability to track your movements - that'll go down like a lead balloon.
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| Posted by Skippy on Tue Nov 09, 2010 11:15 pm |
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| M8TJT Wrote: | | Skippy Wrote: | | Ahh, there's no financial objection to the cost of running speed cameras, they don't cost anything to run - they make a fortune in fines. |
If this were the case, then surely the government would not let councils switch them off and miss this obvious trick to extract cash from the motorist? |
The Labour government treated the motorist as a cash cow, extracting large amounts of money from them. Fuel duty and road tax increases dressed up with green-wash, speed cameras to make our roads "safer", more bus lane cameras and decriminalised parking fines to cut congestion etc.
People were getting fed up with it all and stopped believing the spin, eventually the Tory government manifesto declared an end to the war on the motorists.
| M8TJT Wrote: | | Is it not that the running costs are, for some unexplained reason, high, and now more than the grant thatncouncils receive from the government from the fines that they raise? |
Interesting theory, but my understanding is that Gatsos make a lot of money, certainly an amount far in excess of the cost of installing and running them. An added saving is the number of police taken off traffic duties to do other work.
Gone fishing! |
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| Posted by Andy_P on Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:10 am |
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| Skippy Wrote: |
People were getting fed up with it all and stopped believing the spin, eventually the Tory government manifesto declared an end to the war on the motorists. |
And you SERIOUSLY believe this bunch will actually change anything ??? 
"Settling in nicely" ;-) |
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