I make no apology for returning to the hoary old issue of speed cameras. The road safety industry don't apologise for claiming that the purpose of cameras is to save lives when the facts demonstrate the opposite, so why should I be any different?
It was reported on BBC TV this week that the number of speed cameras in Hertfordshire rose by 24% last year; road deaths in the county rose by 34%. In Wiltshire cameras increased by 14% and deaths went up by 22%. There was a similar story in North Wales and in Avon & Somerset.
On the other hand County Durham, which has no speed cameras, saw road deaths fall by 24%, and North Yorkshire, also with no cameras, reported a drop of 9%.
Back in April the East Anglian Daily Times exposed as a lie claims that new speed cameras on the A12 were justified by accidents. Using the Freedom of Information Act, they obtained information that proved none of the accidents cited as justification for the cameras involved excessive speed. Police statistics over the last few years show that excessive speed is a contributory factor in only 7.3% of all accidents. The most common cause of accidents is shown to be "driver inattention". Probably drivers were so busy looking at their speedometers, they forgot to watch the road ahead!
If your doctor prescribed some medicine that plainly didn't work, but insisted on continuing to prescribe it time after time and telling you it was your own fault you're ill, you'd go to another doctor, wouldn't you?
If you'd like to read more about one of the longest-running and most blatant frauds in modern times, have a look here and click on the "News" button.
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