Printer friendly page

DfT plans camera changes, according to The Times

The system of recycling speeding fines to fund safety cameras is to be abolished, according to an article that appeared in The Times recently.

Ministers believe that the 'cash for cameras' scheme has resulted in widespread distrust of the speed enforcement system. Camera partnerships will be instructed to consider every other option for improving safety and will only be allowed to install a camera as a last resort.

The DfT remains convinced that cameras work and will soon publish its annual report on the scheme, showing that cameras save more than 100 lives a year. But the department will also announce reforms to the way in which the partnerships are managed and funded.

Revenue from camera fines will be collected centrally and redistributed among the partnership areas for use in all aspects of road safety. The partnerships will be able to use the money to make junctions safer and to improve the visibility of signs and road markings as well as for cameras.

The department wants partnerships to follow the example of Lincolnshire, which has managed to reduce road casualties while issuing fewer tickets. Whereas most partnerships apply to the department each year to erect more cameras, Lincolnshire has said that it does not need any more.

Ministers also approve of the county's policy of having camera officials working alongside police road safety officers and council highway engineers. "If all partnerships were made to work together in this way they would think much more carefully about the alternatives to cameras," said a government source.

The DfT is also planning to give partnerships greater flexibility to use cameras where there is a speeding problem but no recent history of crashes. Roads beside schools will be given priority.

There will also be new guidelines on the enforcement of temporary speed limits during roadworks. Partnerships will be encouraged to use digital cameras, which record the average speed between two points.

The DfT is also preparing to publish independent research refuting claims that the benefits of speed cameras have been exaggerated.