The Mantra -Speed Kills

The letter below was published in The Northern Echo today

Bob Jarratt { 2 nd September} suggests, in effect, that motorists must learn to love Speed (so called 'safety') Cameras; they are there he implies to protect us all.

Mr Jarrett clearly supports the road safety campaigners in this country who are obsessed with the mantra ''speed kills''. A slogan which is backed up by the often repeated falsehood that speed is a factor in one- third of fatal and serious accidents. The true figure is in fact about seven percent. Furthermore, the bulk of speed-related accidents occur at speeds within the posted speed limit, so that it is "inappropriate speed" rather than speed, per se, that kills.

As for the claim that speed cameras have reduced accidents, the truth is that serious accident figures have been continuously dropping since 1966, making Britain's roads the safest in Europe. But that rate of decline has markedly slowed since 1994, coinciding with the period when cameras have moved to the forefront of official efforts to promote safety.

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No matter we must learn to love the 'safety' cameras, they are there to save us from ourselves and extract many extra millions from vastly over taxed motorists.