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Could average speed cameras save lives on Fen roads?
POLICE today announced that extra speed cameras could be introduced on roads in the Peterborough area after the death and serious injury toll was cut on a notorious stretch of a major highway.
POLICE today announced that extra speed cameras could be introduced on roads in the Peterborough area after the death and serious injury toll was cut on a notorious stretch of a major highway.More average speed cameras are now likely to be installed in rural areas, such as Ramsey Forty Foot.
The news comes as police hailed new average speed cameras on the A14 dual carriageway between Cambridge and Huntingdon a success, after the number of serious crashes fell by more than 80 per cent in a year.
During the first year of the introduction of the cameras – between June 2007 and May 2008 – serious crashes fell to two, compared to 11 for the same period in 2006/2007.
The new cameras work by recording a car twice on the same stretch of road and calculating its average speed.
Cambridgeshire police safety camera unit manager Inspector Clinton Hale said: "It appears the cameras have been a success on the A14."
He said police were looking at putting the cameras in areas around the county such as blackspot Ramsey Forty Foot.
News of the expansion of the cameras has been welcomed by Mayor of Whittlesey councillor Steve Garratt, who is keen to see them in use on the notorious North Bank, which runs beside the River Nene between Peterborough and Whittlesey.
He said: "As a rural district, we have problems with open roads. North Bank is particularly notorious for accidents and deaths.
"I would personally welcome any further safety measures, including average speed cameras. Evidence clearly shows the reduction in the accidents and death rate."
Following a spate of deaths at the accident blackspot in 2004, which include Peterborough rugby player Jerry Smyth (31), who died in a motorbike accident, and Stephen Milam (33), who died after his van plunged into the River Nene, The Evening Telegraph launched a Stop the Carnage campaign.
Reflective yellow-backed signs were put up along the North Bank road, to replace warning signs and chevron boards, along with bollards. however, four years on, Cllr Garratt said that many were now broken or missing and needed replacing.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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