Mobile Speed Camera Sites Climb By 34.5 Percent

The number of mobile road safety camera sites in operation rose by 34.5 percent compared to the previous 12 months, according to data released today by Cyclops (www.cyclops-uk.com), the GPS (Global Positioning System) based driver alert system.

During 2003-4, the Government raised £20m as the number of fixed penalty fines in England and Wales increased seven fold to 1.8m since 2000/1.

The largest concentration of mobile sites, those patrolled by radar or laser operated speed cameras, are to be found in the South East (including Metropolitan, Sussex, Thames Valley and Police Forces of the Home Counties) with 17.6 percent of the national total. The South West, which includes Avon & Somerset, Devon & Cornwall, currently has the second highest with 16.6 percent. The lowest numbers are to be found in Scotland with 8.7 percent of the national total.

"Although there was a marked slowdown in the appearance of new fixed gatso, truvelo and SPECS camera sites over the past twelve months, the opposite has been true of mobile patrols operated by Road Safety Partnerships," observed Steve Wreford, director of Cyclops.

Updated daily by a nationwide network of engineers, the Cyclops database contains comprehensive details of every fixed, temporary and mobile speed camera site in the UK. As the driver nears a site, they automatically receive an audible and visual warning from a dashboard-mounted unit. This alert can be up to 800m before the controlled zone allowing drivers to safely adjust their speed as they approach.

Under the rules governing the positioning of mobile locations, proposed sites of between 0.4km to 5km in length, must have recorded at least 2 KSI (Killed or Serious Injury) collisions per kilometre within a monitored 36-month period where speed was a contributory factor or sufficient PIC’s (Personal Injury Collisions) to warrant avoiding a possible future KSI. Criteria for fixed cameras are doubled whereby each site must record at least 4 KSI’s over the same ‘baseline period’. *1

Wreford warns: "At the current rate of growth, we could have as many mobile camera locations as fixed sites by the end of 2005."

The Cyclops database shows that more than half of the mobile sites regularly patrolled by Safety Camera Partnerships operate within the vital 30mph speed limit. Approximately two-thirds of all fatal or serious injury collisions occur on these roads. Department for Transport researchers point out that at 35mph, a driver is twice as likely to kill someone as they are at 30mph.

The second highest concentration of mobile sites is within the 60mph area, with 40mph zones coming a close third.

"Under the draft Road Safety Bill," adds Wreford, "motorists caught excessively speeding will receive six points. In other words, that means the average driver could lose their licence and livelihood in just two offences."

The proliferation in mobile sites comes at a time when the Government also plans to ban the ‘use and carriage’ of all laser and radar speed camera detectors under the same legislation. Only devices using GPS technology, like Cyclops, will be legal.

"According to recent research, 70 percent of drivers checked their speed at least three times when passing a camera. Thankfully, GPS technology allows you to know the oncoming limit and keep you travelling within it safely, all without having to take your eyes off the road," explained Wreford.

Cyclops is recognised by the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership as a ‘positive driving aid’. It is also an approved and recommended accessory by the Ford, Jaguar, Peugeot, Citroen, Nissan, Fiat, MG Rover, Chevrolet, Land Rover and Alfa Romeo motor groups.

*1 Department for Transport