For years, many newspapers have suggested that the installation of speed cameras is some sort of “war on motorists”, but in another sign that the perception is changing, a major regional newspaper has written an editorial calling for a county to reintroduce the technology.
The Swindon Advertiser’s Regional Editor David Chipperfield has written an editorial asking “With so many people still dying or being injured on Wiltshire’s roads surely we need to be reconsidering using whatever is at our disposal to improve safety?”
Wiltshire is one of only four forces in the country that does not have cameras, relying instead on mobile vans and police officers’ handheld counterparts, having shut off the fixed cameras back in 2010.
“A concrete, and relatively simple, first step would be to turn on the county’s fixed speed cameras – and dare I say get a few more installed,” he writes.
He continues: “In 2022 29 people were killed on Wiltshire roads and a further 21 lost their lives in 2023.
“Talking about the issue last year, chief supt Phil Staynings said ‘a single death on our roads is one too many and it is really important that we don’t look at these numbers as just a statistic’.
“But when you do couple those numbers with the scores of people seriously hurt, some with life-changing or life-limiting injuries, surely even on a statistical level alone, we should be demanding more is to be done?”
After talking about the emotional toll on people from fatal and serious crashes on the road, he writes: “While of course, we cannot attribute every death to a case of speeding, it will have been a factor in a large number of them.
“And the technology will have an impact on all drivers, not just those flouting the speed limits.
“Speed cameras can give a consistent and impartial enforcement of what is required while behind the wheel.
“Toughening people’s mentality on what exacting standards are required on the road is not something we should ignore as an option when so many people’s lives are being ruined on an almost weekly basis.”
He finishes: “Speed cameras could be a vital tool in the ongoing quest to make our roads safer and more secure for everyone and should not be overlooked.”
(Picture – Jenoptik)
