Miniman

iTrader: (2)

I'm not a fan when it comes to speed cameras (or "safety cameras") and I'm sure some are sighted for reasons other than lowering speeds. I have no issues with someone lowering speeds in a busy town centre or outside a school, but lowering speeds does not necessarily mean speed cameras.

So when the new one outside of Chessington World of Adventures was put in a few weeks ago I was once again thinking, why was one needed there?

In the papers at the weekend was the justification

In the last 3 years there have been 24 accidents on the Leatherhead Road of which 5 have been speed related

Less than 2 accidents a year were speed related! And 19 were some other reason, shouldn't there be a campaign about the other reasons? No doubt some accidents will be one off's never to happen again, but I'm sure there will be statistics to show a significant number of those 19 were accidents that could be attributed to another poor driving technique.

There were no details about the severity of the accidents. There were no details about the place they happened. Also Leatherhead Road is several miles long, there are only two other cameras. I know that in several places it's a fast road and there are no cameras in these places.

This camera has been placed at a junction, if these accidents all happened at that junction, why has a camera been placed, wouldn't it be better to redesign the road to make it inherently slower? Placing a camera is meant to deter people from ever speeding, this one seems to have been placed to warn you that you need to slow down for the junction.

I'm even more convinced now that these cameras are placed for something else other than lowering speeds (despite what that survey said the other week). Whether that's raising money, appeasing the safety doo gooders, fulfilling some government quota, whatever, it's something else. This camera was not placed to reduce speed and is hardly likely to make an impact on the general speed measured over the whole road or reduce accidents (or those 19 "others").

Chrisgr31

And if memory serves me right one of those is about a nile after the M25 junction coming northbound, just after a speed chang, and the camera is hidden by foliage.

My suspicion that accidents along that road are caused by the traffic going to Chessington World of Adventure, either people shunting into the back of the queue, or after a day at the park and they drive home tired and irritable.

On that road there are also a number of turn offs etc, and I bet part of the problem is driver inattention.

dba

that road is a nightmare and as much as i hate cameras,the number of kids running down that road requires something,and its a very fast road,as you know

duSTI's PA

yesturday afternoon 5 kids running down the road, in and out of the traffic
one stepped out from behind the bus and almost got knocked over

stevem2k

That's just a Darwininan process. There is a pedestrian crossing 100yds from there....

I would imagine that some of the accidents are generated by the garden centre too.

<aside> does that mean they'll turn the camera off between november and april </aside>


Steve

dba

Steve

I agree,they should do.but tbh,i am with the Police on this one,if ever there was a case to put a camera up its surely outside a fun park.I live a mile from there and go down the road everyday,and yep,trying to get across from the garden centre doesn't help either.

stevem2k

DBA - I agree with it's location, don't get me wrong. I have issue about all accidents being blamed on speeding drivers when I see a streams of people ignoring the crossing on the way from/to chessington sth station.

( btw , I'm also about a mile away towards Hook ..... Black Forester S/tb )

Steve