Supporters of the speed camera, which first appeared in Britain in 1992, claim research shows that they reduce deaths and serious accidents by 42 per cent. Other research suggests that the historic rate of decline in serious road accidents has actually slowed since the cameras were introduced. The Department for Transport admitted “unwittingly” misleading the public over the benefits of speed cameras. The department said a claim that the cameras reduced serious accidents by 42 per cent on its website would now include an explanation that other research suggests the rate is at least half that level.
I don’t care. We were told these things made a profit at one time, and are now seeing them closed down in cost-cutting exercises. Don’t you just love the new air of freedom this gives? School milk nearly went too. The £50 million could probably be better spent. It would fund a third of the fines we owe the EU for not flying their flag and logos. I just love the focus on the really important and the refocusing of research findings to suit. I rather liked the little yellow guys. Maybe we should hand them over to the EU and let them extract the flag-fines in that manner?
Allcoppedout's Blog 
“…the refocusing of research findings to suit.”
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Who cares.if they reduced accidents? It’s illegal to speed!
“Who cares.if they reduced accidents? It’s illegal to speed!” Unfortunately, a further serving of this old recipe misses the point.
However I nibble at the bait by asking the protagonist if he will be kind enough to suggest a traffic speed ensuring zero accidents.
Yielding to a relentless crusade, I am finally ready to be imbued with Shijuro’s wisdom, reason and pragmatism.
Sorry for the blunt instrument… I think we are missing the point a bit…
When questioned the bosses should have said, “they aren’t there for safety-they are there to catch you speeding…’
instead of the (obvious) bullshit about “safety partnerships”…
Don’t speed and you won’t get caught…
Speeding is a crime and the cameras are (were) there to catch you…
I only got caught once Shij – 38 m.p.h and just dropping off the gas. Needless to say I was pissed off, but it was a small price to pay for the general good. I was caused much more stress by parking tickets for such matters as having a wheel on the bay line. The best of all was the Council claiming I was parked on yellow hashes when its own photograph showed them not there. Traffic wardens stop us parking outside our local butchers when traffic is minimal but are nowhere to be seen when needed at rush hour. All sad stuff. Somewhere in all of it our right to go to court got whisked out from under (typical ZPFNulabour), so even where the Council staff were lying it still cost me more money than the fine to get the Ombudsman to tell them they were wrong with no compensation. The brutal lying by the Council in the face of its own obvious evidence was the real pisser.
I too follow Shijuro on this. They actually made my journey to work less arduous and quicker – speeders, weirdly, actually slow us down when there is a lot of traffic. Others find them less appealing than under-fives.