Pioneering initiative sees Partnership removing speed cameras
28 Oct 2004

The West Midlands Casualty Reduction Partnership (WMCRP), in conjunction with Coventry City Council today began the removal of two speed cameras on Coventry's Ringway. This pioneering initiative has been planned over the last twelve months as part of the Partnerships ongoing review of all speed and red-light camera sites in the region.

The sites in Coventry are the first in a series of camera housings across the West Midlands, which will be removed and relocated to sites where there are significant speed-related casualty problems.

Andrew Pearce, Scheme Manager, says:

"The idea of cameras is that you see them and you slow down; they are there to save lives not to take pictures. These two cameras can't be seen in advance of the site, so they can't do their job in a fair and open way."

"Legally the cameras could stay, but we have always said that if a camera did not serve a road safety purpose then we would remove it. I hope this initiative is seen as a positive move."

Before the removal of sites can begin a lot of background work is done to ensure their removal will not adversely affect the safety of the road. Several trends are analyzed over the previous three years, including the number of slight, serious and fatal crashes, the speed profiles of the road and any site information, such as the location of the camera, and whether the site is visible to motorists.

Where this information suggests a camera is serving no further road safety benefit, the Partnership advises the Local Authority on the removal of the site. Where a camera is removed, the location is monitored afterwards to ensure that speeds and crashes do not increase. The process of removing up to a dozen sites in the West Midlands dates back to the Partnerships first inclusion into the Safety Camera Programme in 2002. Although existing sites may still be used under the Scheme, WMCRP wanted to make sure all cameras were being used for the right reasons. These two units in Coventry date back to 1994 and do not meet the modern visibility guidelines.

"I'm afraid there are still many other dangerous roads that would benefit from the use of camera equipment, so this doesn't signal a reduction in the number of housings on our roads. We will continue to install new cameras where speed is costing lives, and these two units will be used somewhere else in Coventry. Remember that 165 people every year are saved from death or serious injury as a result of the cameras in our area."

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said;

"We, at Coventry City Council, want to reassure residents and motorists that we approve the use of speed cameras only where there is evidence that excessive speed has contributed towards death and serious injury on the road. We hope this initiative proves Coventry City Councils commitment to the adoption of appropriate road safety measures for the aim of reducing accidents and making the roads safer for all road users."