I have to say that when I first read the news of this article on the Sky News Website I was actually appalled. Sky news reports that the government are slashing Road Accident expenses by 40%, so they may switch off thousands of speed cameras throughout England. Considering that the accident rates are constantly increasing due to drivers driving at speeds far too fast for the road, how is switching off these preventative measures going to help anyone!?
It has been estimated that 6,000 speed cameras across the UK cost motorists £100million in fines each year. So surely knowing this alone should stop them from turning the cameras off. Surely if there are this many felons now who are speeding, knowing that they are at risk of incurring 3 points and a minimum of a £60 fine, just imagine how many people are going to drive recklessly once the cameras are turned off. If people are already speeding knowing that there are these fines and cameras in place, what in the world is going to stop them from speeding if there is no punishment or fine in place at all!?
Accidents amongst young drivers are the highest of all as they seem to get a thrill from the need to speed. Their mentality in regards to speeding is very negative. If the government were to use this money to implement positive attitudes to young drivers and deliver more driver education courses to newly passed drivers, then maybe the roads would be a much safer place. Instead, just imagine how many young drivers are going to speed more than they already do. I can’t see how this is a positive move in any way whatsoever. I can’t get over how the Government are thinking to switch these off – this is crazy!!
The BBC news are also discussing this, and it is clear to see that their readers are not at all happy about this. Dan Camsall, a road safety officer for Thames Valley Safer Roads, states: “The cameras have been proven to provide casualty reductions and without funding they can’t continue to be supported and we may see casualties rise again”
I could not agree with him more. Statistically, 7 in 10 drivers speed and don’t have a problem with doing so. I believe more education should be in place to show that speed is such a dangerous factor. More than 60% of Road Accidents are caused by speeding each year! This is whilst we do have such punishment and preventative methods in place. Common sense tells us that if you take away the prevention and the punishment, due to how people think and act, it’s safe to say that unfortunately this amount is highly likely to increase!!
Thousands of people throughout the country dedicate their lives to improving road safety, and I can only imagine what a slap in the face this must feel. They spend all their time and effort trying to make England’s Roads a safer place by delivering driver improvement education courses, then the government go and take this massive step backwards. The driver training officers are going to have their work cut out!
I understand that not everyone does speed and fortunately there are a lot of good, decent, and honest drivers out there who do adhere to the speed limits of the roads. Sadly it takes two to tango, so the innocent driver could drive better than anyone in the world, and it just takes one mindless driver speeding to cause a collision where both parties could end up with injuries. How is this fair!?
So bare this in mind; just because there isn’t a camera in place doesn’t mean that you can speed. The limits are there for a reason, not to prevent you from getting to work on time, or meeting your friends on time – Each road has been given a speed that the highly qualified professionals believe to be a safe and appropriate speed to travel at.
It’s not clever, and it isn’t “cool” – don’t speed! Not only would you not want to be injured in an accident, but how would you feel if you seriously injured or even killed someone else for the sake of that quick adrenaline you get from that momentary mistake?
Think!