Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership
Reports
A Selection of Important Reports Relating to Speed & Safety Cameras
Data Report: Summary of 2006 Casualty Statistics
This report summarises the main Thames Valley road casualty figures for 2006 and compares them with earlier years’ statistics. It includes progress towards the Government’s Road Casualty Reduction 2010 targets, followed by a breakdown of casualty statistics by road user type, road type, casualty age and selected contributory factors. Casualty trends across the Thames Valley region are also compared with equivalent trends at active camera sites.
Read the report in full here.
Handbook of Rules and Guidance for the National Safety Camera Programme.
The Secretary of State published the 2006/07 Handbook, laying it in the parliamentary library. It is an important document as it contains the necessary guidance partnerships need to select camera sites and manage the cost recovery process. The Handbook has been updated in consultation with the Association of Chief Police Officers and representatives of local highway authorities, along with members of the Motorists’ Forum and the Government’s Road Safety Advisory Panel. The Handbook has been updated annually since the programme began and will continue to be subject to review.
To read the Handbook in full click here.
Causes of Accidents: Excessive Speed
A new report published by the Department for Transport investigates excessive speed as a causation factor in road injuries.
Published on 30th September 2004, the report analyses three years of police data from 1999. The findings are an important message for anyone who uses British roads; the faster you are travelling, the more likely you are to die or suffer serious injury if a collision happens.
Excessive speed is the most frequently recorded contributory factor in fatal accidents, featuring in 28% of accident reports. It is particularly common in accidents involving cars or motorcycles, and is often associated with losing control of the vehicle or hitting another vehicle or object in the road.
In a collision, a driver travelling at a slower speed is more likely to be able to walk away with only minor injuries. For slight injury collisions in the same time period, excessive speed was a contributory factor in only 11%.
Read the report in full here.
News: Tuesday 15th June 2004
The Department for Transport have published two very important documents. The first report is an independent study in to theeffectiveness of cameras over the three years of their operation underthe cost recovery scheme. The second report lists every single camerasite in the country. Further information on both is detailed below.
Independent Study Shows Cameras Are Working
To download the report click here (3MB)
Areport published in June 2004 demonstrates that safety cameras in theThames Valley are helping to reduce crashes and save lives. Theindependent study conducted by University College London concluded thatat enforcement sites the number of people killed or seriously injuredwas down by 43%. The total number of people injured at these sites wasdown by 28%. Over a three year period this represents a saving tosociety of nearly £70m.
These represent very large reductions in casualties and give further evidence that safety cameras are working to protect all road users and make communities safer across Thames Valley.
The Department for Transport called for this second independent assessmentof the safety camera programme in the UK. After much conjecture aboutthe effectiveness and fairness of using roadside safety cameras, it wasimportant that the programme could be objectively evaluated. The previous report in February last year only took account of the first 8 pilot areas. This latest report looks at 24 police authority areas.
In the period covered by the report, Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership introduced mobile enforcement (speed camera vans) as well as continuing to refine their strategy for using the fixed roadside cameras. The introduction of this new technology is believed to have played an important part in achieving these results.
“It is important that the programme is open to rigorous public scrutiny. This report does just that, and we are pleased to see that the hard work of our partners has been rewarded with these excellent results.”
Dan Campsall, Communications Manager
“The Safer Roads Partnership is constantly reviewing its strategy for using cameras in the best way possible. We believe that our very targeted approach of dealing with the worst accident blackspots with the highest levels of enforcement will continue to yield good results.”
Chris Scroxton, Project Manager
Every Camera Counted
To download the list click here (196kb)
To help users understand this information better we have produced some additional guidance notes (99kb)
The Department for Transport has published detailed information about every safety camera site in the country. Following months of speculation about the way that cameras have been installed across the nation, today’s list gives the reasons why they are there.
Included in the list are the many cameras dating back ten years or more that were installed prior to the much more recent partnership programme. These cameras were installed by local authorities with good reason; to deal with sites of community concern or to protect vulnerable road users and may not now comply with the stringent rules introduced by the DfT in 2002.
This national list tries to present information on every camera in the country in a uniform manner, but does not always give vital information about why a site is there and the valuable job it has achieved.
Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership have for some time been publishing much of this information on their website. Over the coming months this body of information will grow to include even more than has been already published. If you would like to view this information go to Camera Search, and when you find the camera you want simply click on it for additional information.
In Thames Valley all cameras regardless of when they were installed are reviewed every six months and the amount they are used is based on the number of casualties at each site. The sites with the worst casualty history over recent months will get the most enforcement.
“This list shows the very high casualty numbers at some of our camera sites, which equates to a great deal of human suffering; that is why the cameras are there. They pose no threat to motorists who are driving within the limit, and they are contributing to safer roads for everyone.”
Dan Campsall, Communications Manager
“The Safer Roads Partnership has a history of removing cameras that are no longer the most appropriate measure for maintaining safety. However, we will only act to remove sites where we are convinced that public safety is not compromised by doing so”
Chris Scroxton, Project Manager
Helpful Hints
Full site list help notes 99Kb 6/06/2004 Additional information to consider when looking at the DfT Site List
10 Criticisms of Cameras:
Why The Arguments Are Flawed
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, have joined forces with the Slower Speeds Initiative to answer thoroughly and intelligently some of the questions raised about speed cameras.
The report takes ten of the most commonly raised criticisms of the national safety camera programme and points to the often untold reality.
Anyone with an interest in the way safety cameras are operated should make reading this report a priority.
Read the report at http://www.pacts.org.uk/speedcamerabriefing.pdf.
Brake: Road Safety Report.
The road safety charity Brake has published an information sheet on speed control and speed related collisions. It offers useful advice on the physics of speed and recognising hazards. Read the full report here.
Created: 2005-10-18 09:45:48 | Last Updated: 2007-07-06 03:34:52
