Speeding convictions on the rise
By: Assetz
Anyone who's seen that sickening flash of a speed camera in the rear
view mirror may be relieved to hear that they are by no means alone.
New figures show that one in four households contain at least one
driver with a speeding condition, with the latest figures from the Home
Office confirming that more than two million drivers were flashed for
speeding in 2004, the last year for which figures are available.
This is matched by a general rise in the number of speeding offences
dealt with by the police, which hit a record high of 13.5 million, with
offences ranging from dangerous driving to speeding and illegal
parking. Accordingly, it's becoming increasingly likely that your
fellow road users have committed a driving offence, with 2004
witnessing 466 offences for every 1,000 vehicles on the road, up from
355 a decade earlier.
With many sceptical that the UK's drivers are simply getting worse, the
figures have lead critics to claim that motorists are more likely to be
detected and prosecuted for offences, even miner ones. Tony Vickers, of
the Association of British Drivers, claims that drivers now have a
greater chance of being prosecuted than in previous years. "It is
beginning to look more like prosecution for prosecution's sake, rather
than a realistic road safety policy," he told the Telegraph.
The greater prevalence of speed cameras is helping to fuel this rise in
prosecution, with the two million drivers snapped in 2004 up
considerably from the 447,000 in 1998. Now the government has announced
that it plans to extend the UK's network of speed cameras, which is
already 6,000 strong, by approving hundreds of new speed camera sites
across the country. Following the government's decision, some 233 new
speed cameras will be installed, while just 30 sites are due to be
decommissioned.
Criticism for this planned increase has been swift in coming, with
shadow transport minister Owen Paterson stating "motorists will be
disappointed to see the government planning yet more speed cameras on
our roads".
"Speed cameras clearly have a role to play in road safety but they are
not the be all and end all. We need the co-operation of drivers if we
are to improve road safety and if we simply install endless amounts of
cameras we risk losing their support," he added.
A common thread behind anti speed camera attitudes is the idea that
they are installed more as a revenue making exercise than a road safety
device. Unfortunately the latest projected earnings from speed cameras
will do nothing to dispel this idea, with the 39 safety camera
partnership expected to make ?120 million over the next financial
year. The partnerships, comprised of councils, police, courts and the
Highways Agency, are allowed to keep some of the revenue from fines to
pay for the upkeep of the cameras.
One good piece of news revealed by the new figures, however, is that
the number of drivers disqualified for speeding has fallen, hitting
31,000 in 2004, down from 33,000 the year before, suggesting that one
lot of penalty points can
deter drivers from future speeding offences.
Andrew Howard from the AA pointed to research that says drivers who are
caught speeding once are motivated to avoid a further recurrence,
telling the Daily Mirror: "These figures show most drivers who get a
speeding conviction learn the lesson and either pay more attention to
their speed or look more closely for cameras.
About The Author:
Profile or Bio data: Author a experienced property analyst.He has been researching on property investment in UK .Since 10 years. Presently he is with http://www.assetz.co.uk/
