Switch off in the West Midlands

talexuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 15, 2008 Posts: 48

Today it is reported all the wet film cameras in the West Midlands are to be switched off for cost reasons.

Reports say only 73 out of 305 cameras will still be in use, but of those 305 - 89 are supposed to be dummies anyway.

Instead they are increasing their mobile vans from 2 to 4!

How soon can the database reflect the new mobile sites, or is it a good bet that they will be close to switched off camera sites?

M8TJT

253 · Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:45 pm Post subject:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2302352/Police-force-scraps-304-speed-cameras-theyre-expensive-run-theyll-catch-mobile-units.html

This is a link to report in the Daily Wail.

To be honest I was thinking it was an April Fools jobby, but the time on the post is 4.09pm, so may be not. Unless of course it originated before midday, I don't know.
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DennisN · Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 7:15 am Post subject:

Another interesting snippet. The newly elected mayor of Bristol was reported in the news a couple of days ago as wanting the Bristol cameras switched on again. Apparently they were all switched off in 2011 without any announcement AND even the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police didn't know about them being off!! (And why are Bristol cameras controlled by the council whilst it's the police in West Midlands?)

So now the West Midlands dilemma is surely whether to remove any cameras from the database. Like the Bristol ones and many others, they can be reactivated in such a short time as the posts and boxes remain in situ. Who wants to be the one to test them?
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

M8TJT · Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:04 am Post subject:

253 · Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:48 am Post subject:

GerryC · Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:50 am Post subject:

I'd be cautious of any camera partnership telling everyone so publicly that the cameras are turned off "pending a decision on whether to upgrade to digital technology."

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the 'earners' are still working this week as "you said you turned it off" wouldn't be a great excuse to use in court.

Gerry

talexuser · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 15, 2008 Posts: 48

We were always told the reason for having them is safety in preventing accidents at hotspots. However as soon as they are not cost effective they are off. What's happened to preventing accidents at so many hotspots? Shocked

DennisN · Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:05 pm Post subject:

And what's in the description "cost effective" anyway? They tell us a single fatal or serious accident costs zillions, so why wouldn't preventing one such accident be cost effective. If one camera prevents one fatal accident, it pays for itself for many years. So all this stuff is pure sound bite. Cameras make money, that's it. And when they stop making a profit, they're chopped, simples.
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

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