Drivers 'disillusioned' with speed cameras (From Warrington Guardian)

Drivers 'disillusioned' with speed cameras

THE agency responsible for Warrington's speed cameras insists the cameras are situated near accident black spots.

Cheshire Camera Safety Partnership claims the accident figures last year on our major roads have backed up the town's chosen speed camera routes.

However, many drivers in town feel the cameras are placed to draw maximum revenue from fines.

When asked about the money that speed cameras in the county generated each year, a spokesman for the Cheshire Camera Safety Partnership was unable to comment.

The Partnership currently has four fixed camera sites in Warrington and another seven mobile camera sites.

Speed enforcement officers visit the mobile camera locations at varying intervals, but over the past six months, they have stopped announcing when they will visit.

Claire Price, a spokesman for the AA, said: "We want to see cameras at the best sites to deter accidents. It fuels people's suspicions if they can't understand why they have been placed on a particular site. It gets their back up.

"The more cameras start springing up, the more disillusioned people get."

Aside from the camera sites, police still monitor speeds with radar guns or react to specific complaints from residents with covert operations.

Traffic officers use 'golden river' equipment (rubber strips placed across the road) which tells them when, at what speed and the number of vehicles passing over a particular road.

But despite some motorists complaining about speed cameras, others would welcome enforcement on roads in their area.

Councillor Ted Lafferty has repeatedly called for action to be taken on Thelwall New Road, Thelwall, and believes cameras would help.

He said: "I would like the speed limit reduced to 20 mph. It can get very dangerous near the junior school when children are coming out. It's a straight road and many drivers often tend to speed up."