'Lives at risk' as funding cut for speed cameras

GOVERNMENT cuts in funding for speed cameras could lead to an increase in the number of people killed on South Yorkshire's roads, transport watchdogs have warned.

The South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership, which has recorded a 16 per cent fall so far this year in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county's roads, has been hit with a 30 per cent "in-year" cut in its budget.

As a result, it has had to scrap plans to replace outdated "wet film" speed cameras with new digital technology.

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The organisation says it may even be forced to take down existing cameras because of the cost of maintaining them.

Partnership manager Ken Wheat said: "In this financial year we budgeted on the basis of the grant that we were promised to get, but the new Government came in and chopped that back, reducing our revenue by nearly 30 per cent.

"Part of our plan was to replace the obsolete 'wet film' camera technology with digital technology, which is a much more effective way of dealing with safety cameras.

"We've had to scale back our activities for this year and we've managed to do that, but what we're now faced with is the fact that more cuts that could be introduced following the government's comprehensive spending review later this month."

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Mr Wheat added the funding cuts – which amount to around 600,000 of the partnership's 2m budget – could lead to an increase in the number of drivers speeding and, therefore, bring about an increase in deaths and injuries on the roads.

Fatalities and serious injuries on South Yorkshire's roads are currently at an all-time low, something the Safer Roads Partnership says is partly due to speed cameras.

Last year was the first since records began without any child deaths, compared with 22 young people killed in 1979, the first year statistics were kept.

In 2009, the total number of people killed and seriously injured fell to the lowest since records began – 493 people badly injured and 37 adults killed, compared with 59 people killed and 526 seriously injured the previous year.

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Mr Wheat said: "The bottom line is that we believe we have been

spending money effectively on safety cameras.

"If we don't put as much of our resources in then there is likely to be an increase in the number of casualties on South Yorkshire's roads.

"There is no doubt that if we don't spend as much money on road safety as we otherwise would have done then more people will be injured on the roads than otherwise would have been."

As a result of the funding cuts, the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership will also be cancelling a national "Bike Safe" event at Doncaster Racecourse which was set to take place next year.

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This year's event, held in June at Sheffield Arena, was very successful and attracted bikers from across the country. However, because of the budget being slashed, there is no money left for next year's event.

The partnership is also planning on removing speed cameras in some locations in South Yorkshire, to save on the cost of staff travelling to them to remove and replace the film.

Mr Wheat said: "We may have to decommission cameras at some sites, where they aren't as effective as other sites, so we don't have as many visits to deal with.

"These camera sites are very important to local communities. Some motorists don't support safety cameras, but if we ask the local community if they want their camera taking down, the response is usually no."

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A survey by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), which was published in August this year, found that in the public in Yorkshire was the most supportive of speed cameras in the country.

The study found an 83 per cent approval rating of cameras in the

region, compared with the national average 70 per cent. Least supportive was Wales with a 43 per cent rating.