Safety cameras health warning

Lee Schramm, a 25 year old ambulance driver has been fined for speeding as a result of rushing to get donor organs to two dying patients. He is the latest victim of the automated speed camera system.

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He was driving a distinctive ambulance unit, with blue flashing lights, when he was flashed by a speed camera for doing 36 mph in a 30 mph zone, while transporting a liver and kidney, for urgent transplants.

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The organs were collected from Gatwick Airport at 8.30am and Schramm had until just 10am to deliver them to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, some 81 miles away.

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He made the deadline, saving the life of two patients in the process, but now is facing up to the prospect of 3 points on his licence and a £30 fine.

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After appealing and explaining the nature of the journey and the reason for travelling at just over the speed limit, Thames Valley Police informed him that the fine and the points were still valid.

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Mr Schramm commented: "I am a safe driver with an advanced licence. This is disgusting. If I went slower, people could die and that's not the reason I went into this job."

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Earlier this year another hospital driver delivering a donor organ was fined £60 after being caught by a speed camera. Lois Rolt even had a police escort as she transported the lung for an emergency transplant patient.

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A few minutes into her journey, the blue light on top of her emergency vehicle fused and she was forced to request a police escort to ensure she kept her deadline.

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The mother of four was stunned when she received a letter a few days later saying that she had been caught doing 68 mph in a 40 mph zone on the A77, which had incurred the £60 penalty fine.

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Next time the government claims that speed cameras save lives, remember this story - clearly there is more than one way in which these 'safety' cameras can be a danger to our health.

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Clearly learning to love speed cameras will prove to be an uphill struggle.