The brakes have been slammed on a plan to introduce mobile average speed cameras to the Isle of Wight.
A look into whether the cameras would be effective on the Island has come back with ‘insufficient evidence’.
In February this year, the Conservatives put £300,000 into the budget, to buy 2 sets of mobile average speed cameras to crack down on speeding problems.
There are currently no fixed speed cameras in operation on the Island after those were turned off several years ago. The remaining distinctive yellow-box cases were removed last year having been kept empty to act as a deterrent.
A speed camera van does move around the Island, operated by Hampshire Constabulary, but with the traffic policing team now merged with the armed response unit, there is less capacity now to enforce speed limits.
The Conservatives had hoped the cameras could be an answer to enforcing speed limits but with a change in administration, and officer research, the business case for buying the cameras could be halted.
Officers were instructed to identify costs and whether they were effective.
Relaying the findings to the council’s neighbourhood and regeneration scrutiny committee on Thursday, Colin Rowlands, director of neighbourhoods, said they only found one trial of mobile average speed cameras in 2011 but failed to find if that continued or whether any operated in the UK today.
Mr Rowlands believed the cameras were not something the council should consider right now although technology may improve.
Instead, he said, the money would be better used by going towards the speed review the council is already carrying out — which looks at the perception of speeding on the Island, how Islanders feel about speeding and what measures can be taken to tackle it.
Councillors unanimously agreed there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a business case for the cameras.
The committee’s comments will be relayed to cabinet for decision.
The speed review will finish in March, with the data analysed and a report brought back to the council this time next year.
Now that the traffic police have merged with the armed response unit. Couldn’t the Officers shoot holes in the tyres of any motorists speeding and driving dangerously. Of course the motorist’s might crash, but dont these idiots do that anyway ? Just a thought.
If speeding is the going concern on the Island,why is the council promoting racing motorcycle events on the roads or car events surly this is double standards or is it about the revenue it makes similar as mobile speed camera facing down hill at 30mph easy picking. Speeding is a problem but transparency is important too.
I don’t think there is a massive problem with speeding on the Island. Sure you get the occasional speeder tearing up the dual, or people using the military road as a race track and youngsters racing around everywhere, but generally, most people stick pretty close to the speed limits. That £300,000 would be better invested in a few more visible police patrols to crack down on the real offenders instead of using motorists as a quick and easy source of cash for minor motoring infringements
Good point. Police always seem to focus their efforts on ‘Us’, on our common petty infringements, instead of dealing with real criminals, drug running, using violence and intimidating residents.
So many times we have reported the above as going on, only to be continually ignored – thus this criminal activity goes on unchecked everyday.
Total inaction by the Police towards tackling real crime, as it’s a lot easier to target the general public’s occasional minor mistakes.
Here’s a ‘radical’ idea…
why not re-install the yellow boxes that used to hold the cameras?
making a statement to the effect that ‘traffic safety cameras’ are being installed will assuredly reduce offences?
Economic solution, just need to use ‘random’ cameras, and then anyone intent on breaking the law will have no idea which are live and which are not.
much better way of spending (less than) £300,000!
Problem, if not solved, definitely reduced.
I would imagine if the council want average speed cameras, then that’s what they will get no matter whatever anyone says or does.
‘Victory for motorists as plans to introduce mobile speed cameras put on hold’ – only a victory for those motorists that insist on breaking the speed limit, and, in some cases driving at dangerously high speeds! There should be hidden cameras to catch these people. It just might make people think a bit more, if it’s not obvious where cameras are, then maybe, just maybe there might be a few less crashes on the roads.
I do so much agree with you. The speed freaks on the junction of the dual carriageway with Forest Road are going to kill someone crossing on the badly-placed traffic lights, one of these days.
Nissan micras reduce speed perfectly especially on country lanes and outside lanes of the dual carriageway, they keep us all down to 25/30 mph, buy a load of those and hand them out to the over 80’s.
Yes, there are undoubtable speeding motorists on the Island but I’d say there are far more ridiculously slow drivers. Being stuck in a queue of vehicles behind someone driving at 25 mph in a 40, 50 or 60 zone is, to say the least, frustrating but happens nearly every time you make a journey.
I’m not saying everyone should drive at the maximum permitted speed, but far too many drivers on our roads just seem totally unaware of what they are doing or what the limits are and drive at the same ‘careful’ speed everywhere irrespective of the road they are on.
Don’t speed, but please don’t drive everywhere at 25mph either.
They are usually pensioners and my guess is that they are driving so slowly because they are too blind to see where they are going. One of my neighbours can’t see 10 feet in front of him but he still drives regularly. These people don’t care that they are in control (or not) of a deadly weapon.
Utter rubbish from someone who obviously classes every person over 55 as blind and stupid based upon a massive research base of exactly one person who you probably know nothing about! Might I suggest that you do a tad more research before damning a whole generation.
Yep, agree Mr D. All the records say that its the younger drivers who are responsible for the most accidents and fatalities, usually caused by speeding. Yes there are people who drive slowly, and this can be frustrating for drivers, BUT it is inevitable you will come up behind something moving slower, Lorries, Farm vehicle’s, Cyclists etc. Please give yourself time for your journey and arrive safely .
i would like to know why the police camera van who Parks illegally in a bus stop opposite Winchester house shanklin does not get a ticket because if I parked there as am not a bus i would get a ticket
It is not illegal to park a police vehicle in a bus stop (there are 19 other exemptions) and the bus stop opposite Winchester House does not fit the definition of a bus stop anyway as there is no upright ‘No parking except buses’ sign. So no vehicle could get a ticket.
One rule for them and one rule for us.
Not just speeding motorists a problem. Drugs feature in many of the road crashes, according to articles in the Echo.
The terminology is rather misleading, Average Speed Cameras are two or more cameras at FIXED positions which record a vehicles average speed over the distance between them. They can or could be moved to different locations but they cannot be MOBILE.
Hampshire police went to court to get this changed on the island on north island fixed camera sign only for fixed camera mobile sign only for mobile camera and they say its to keep the roads safe more like making money saw on south today in new Forest they put up mobile camera sign for mobile camera as fixed sign for fixed camera in towns
Gobbledygook!
No need for speed cameras while cyclists are allowed on the roads.