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Title: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: Peter Venkman on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 09:48:57 Its official Swindon is the safest place to drive in the UK, apparently put down a lot to the removal od speed cameras.
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/news/swindon-has-uk%E2%80%99s-safest-roads-after-scrapping-speed-cameras-20120326.html Quote A Wiltshire town that decided to get rid of its speed cameras has the safest roads in Britain, a report has revealed. Swindon, which scrapped its speed cameras in July 2009 to save on council costs and trial other traffic calming measures, has just two accidents per thousand registered vehicles on its roads - the lowest rate in the UK. The town became the first English local authority to decommission fixed cameras, although it decided to maintain mobile cameras used by police. Speed camera not in use in Swindon, July 2008. In contrast, The City of London – which still uses fixed cameras - has more than 45 times the amount of accidents with 90.9 per thousand registered vehicles involved in prangs. “We are delighted Swindon has come out so well in this research because we take road safety extremely seriously,” a Swindon Borough Council spokesman told Yahoo! News. “When we removed our speed cameras it allowed us to put extra funding into other road safety measures and this research appears to back up the work we have been doing with the police.” Swindon saw little change to the number of accidents after the cameras were scrapped, with no fatalities in the six months following their removal. Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign director Emma Boon said: “This is more evidence that speed cameras are not the answer to making Britain’s roads safer. The cameras result in fines that represent a significant burden on drivers on the basis of how fast they are driving on one stretch of road, but we need a broader, more effective approach to road safety policy. “Local authorities should follow Swindon’s example and move to focus on other road safety measures aside from speed”. The research by insurance firm Stavely Head, compiled from Department of Transport figures, reveals that London’s roads are by far the worst for road safety, with 11 of the UK’s most dangerous 15 boroughs in the capital. Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton also feature in the most dangerous road list. “We hope that by revealing the Local Authorities with the highest accident rates, more will be done by local councils to make our roads safer”, said Ashley Peters, Director of Staveley Head. “Around three quarters of road traffic accidents nationwide occur when weather conditions are good, which is a clear indicator that a large proportion of these accidents could be avoided.” Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: jayohaitchenn on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 09:50:21 Speed Cameras in 'not a safety feature' SHOCK!
No surprises there then. Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: Sippo on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 10:00:19 Shame we still have some pillock drivers who can't drive or use a motor vehicle correctly
Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: 4D on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 11:14:04 Does that mean our insurance premiums will come down?
Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: dporter on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 11:26:34 Shame we still have some pillock drivers who can't drive or use a motor vehicle correctly Haha that's me when i come back to Swindon, especially when i hit the magic roundabout! Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: Arriba on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 11:29:57 Removing speed cameras would have had zero effect in making roads safer.
Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: 4D on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 12:47:34 Removing speed cameras would have had zero effect in making roads safer. One thing less to crash into though arriba. Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: Sippo on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 12:52:15 I wish they'd sort some of the pot holes now...
Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: jayohaitchenn on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 15:35:46 Removing speed cameras would have had zero effect in making roads safer. Apart from the fact (as is states in the article) that the money they saved by not subsidising speed cameras went on other road safety initiatives. Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: Arriba on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 16:09:35 One thing less to crash into though arriba. :clap:Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: SwindonTartanArmy on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 20:54:39 I wish they'd sort some of the pot holes now... They aren't potholes, they are speed reduction devices.Title: Re: Swindon - safest place to drive in the country. Post by: 4D on Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 10:18:28 The suspension on my car is firm to say the least! Potholes, uneven roads, raised ironworks - it all needs looking at. For those of you who have the pleasure of travelling through Calne, you may have noticed the "tabletop" bit of the bypass towards the porte marsh industrial estate end. There is a 10 to 20 ft piece of road that seems to be about 6 inches higher than the rest of the road; hit that at 50 in my car and it feels like my stomach is under the seat and my head is above the roof. Really is strange how the road has gone like that ???
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