'Driver speeds rising on Hull roads where cameras withdrawn'
DRIVER speeds are rising at sites in Hull where cameras have been withdrawn, it has been claimed.
The use of mobile speed cameras at 17 locations across the city ended last year when Hull City Council pulled out of the Safer Roads Humber partnership.
Live coverage at some fixed camera sites in Hull has also been reduced as a result of the funding cut.
The move saved the council about £200,000 a year.
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Now, partnership manager Mick Harris says driver speeds in the city are increasing in the absence of regular camera enforcement.
He said: "There is an indication that speeds are going up at some of the sites since we have stopped enforcement.
"Because of the city council's decision to withdraw from the partnership, we no longer have mobile sites in Hull.
"However, there are still a number of fixed cameras in the city where enforcement does take place.
"Not all of those fixed cameras are operational all of the time.
"However, for obvious reasons we do not give out public information about which cameras are working and which ones are not."
Speaking at an East Riding Council scrutiny committee, Mr Harris confirmed all revenue raised from speeding fines linked to the cameras went straight to the Government.
He said the partnership's day-to- day running costs are met by funding from the other three councils in the Humber region and some Whitehall funding.
However, most of the costs are funded by motorists paying to attend awareness training courses after being caught by speed cameras as an option to being fined and having three points added to their driving licence.
Last year, drivers paid £1.1m in training course fees.
Mr Harris said reduced council and government funding in recent years had prompted a shift in emphasis away from relying solely on camera enforcement.
He said: "A large part of our work is now dedicated to education and diversion through speed awareness training and a new national online training course on the use of seat belts.
"It is part of an almost psychological attempt to develop and encourage people to adapt and change their driving habits.
"We are trying to encourage a different mindset to be able to drive safely on our roads by keeping people up to date on the requirements of new legislation and new traffic signs."
Humberside police and crime commissioner Matthew Grove said he was planning to hold a "public summit" on the issue of speed cameras.
He said: "The idea would be to get all interested organisations involved in road safety to debate whether the cameras are simply a cash cow or delivering real value for money."
26 Comments
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by andy243
Tuesday, March 12 2013, 2:27PM
“Well Mr Harris, are you going to comment further on where you get your data from? There seems to be more and more people asking. You won't be able to avoid it forever..........”
by Yelrubsol
Tuesday, March 12 2013, 9:52AM
“Average speeds going is absolutely fine. It's whether accidents are increasing in number which is the main statistic of value.”
by Rob_Nash
Monday, March 11 2013, 11:56AM
“"Matthew Grove said he was planning to hold a "public summit" on the issue of speed cameras.
He said: "The idea would be to get all interested organisations involved in road safety to debate whether the cameras are simply a cash cow or delivering real value for money."
Don't bother Mr. Groves everyone knows they are sited where they are, to raise cash. If that isn't the case someone should try and give rational explanation as to why a mobile camera is sited at the bottom of the Smith & Nephew flyover on the route out of the city, just yards from a national speed limit sign, instead of at the other end of the flyover slowing people down ENTERING the City. The public have been asking this question for years and not got a rational explanation”
by RamonaFlowers
Monday, March 11 2013, 6:15AM
“Surely the important thing is has the number of accidents gone up.”
by beckster07
Sunday, March 10 2013, 9:15PM
“perhaps if people did the speed limit and kept the traffic flowing people would not speed over taking these sunday drivers...”
by Rob_Nash
Sunday, March 10 2013, 7:05PM
“If there is no monitoring of speeds at the sites what evidence has this clown got of increased speed?”
by Pete898
Sunday, March 10 2013, 6:46PM
“Just exactly what is the Humber Safety Partnership? - there is no detail in the article. If this body turns out to be a business be it even a 'not for profit' organisation, then this guy 'Mick Harris' has a vested interest and should not be allowed to comment, because his view point is not independent of the facts....end of story”
by MOGRAT
Sunday, March 10 2013, 2:03PM
“Never mind about the speeding, the cops want to be going after the criminals who leave our roads in such a dangerous state... You can't speed on them anyway, too damaging to vehicles, which if you look at it, is a covert method they use to cut speeds.. Just don't fix the roads. Works perfectly and it doesn't cost anything.. There's too much emphasis on speeding, mobile phone use kills more people but takes more resourses to catch the perpetrators. Easy targets speeders you know....”
by David_Nivea
Sunday, March 10 2013, 12:47PM
“Well, fancy that!
Most people are not fit to be on the road as they are incapable of driving within a few prescribed boundaries.”
by Kustard
Sunday, March 10 2013, 8:33AM
“Mick Harris states: "There is an indication that speeds are going up at some of the sites since we have stopped enforcement.'''
Where is your evidence that this is the case, or is it more spouting off at the mouth without engaging brain.
The whole speed camera issue was about generating revenue. If it was truly about road safety WHY was there not a camera outside EVERY school in the country.... That just for starters.”