Government cuts may well signal the end of speed cameras in many parts of England and Wales.
Oxfordshire could become the first county to dispose of the cameras with plans to switch them off as early as next weekend with other counties expected to follow suit. The move has come about due to a 40% cut in central government spending on road safety which has led to Oxfordshire council cutting £600,000 worth of funding to the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership which operates the areas fixed speed cameras. Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Northamptonshire are also set to review their spending on cameras.
Speed cameras were introduced into the UK in 1992 and there are now about 6,000 which generate approximately £100m in fines each year. The government has said that it is delivering on its pre-election pledge to “end the war on the motorist”, but road safety campaigners have condemned the move.
The charity Brake has written to local authority chief executives to urge them not to follow Oxfordshire council’s lead. Ellen Booth, from the charity, said that a decrease in the number of speed cameras would result in more road accidents which are the biggest killer of 15 to 24-year olds.