RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

December 15 , 2005
NEW CAMERA RULES WILL IMPROVE ROAD SAFETY

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents today welcomed Government plans to change safety camera rules and invest more in road safety.

RoSPA is particularly pleased that there will be better signs to make it easier for drivers to know speed limits so that they are less likely to speed.

Kevin Clinton, RoSPA Head of Road Safety, said a new independent study on cameras demonstrated once again how “incredibly effective” they were in cutting casualties on Britain’s roads. The report showed a reduction of deaths and serious injuries at camera sites of 42 per cent - around 1,745 fewer people being killed or seriously injured each year with about 100 lives being saved.

He said: “The new funding arrangements will allow a far wider range of road safety measures to be used, helping to ensure the best possible remedy for individual trouble spots. This should bring positive benefits for road safety.

“Money from cameras is not being taken away from road safety, but becomes part of a bigger fund to help local authorities with specific initiatives.

“Improved signage of speed cameras and speed limits is something RoSPA has advocated for a long time.”

The Government said safety cameras will be looked at as part of overall local road safety plans and the current system of funding them through fines will be ended. That system will be replaced by a new central fund for road safety of £110m a year, exceeding the £93m currently spent by safety camera partnerships. This will be in addition to road safety funding allocated through the local transport settlement.

More information to help drivers not to break speed limits can be found at:
http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/speed_policy_paper_may05.pdf .