RACE AWAY CRASHES LEAD TO DOUBLE TROUBLE IN CUMBRIA
22 December 2004 - Safe Speed

According to press reports, Cumbria are to introduce ''double'' speed traps - two camera vans just one quarter of a mile apart.

One might wonder at the purpose of such a bizarre tactic. Do they want to issue double fines to passing drivers? Double fines would be bad enough, but the truth is far more frightening.

It turns out than there have been a series of crashes as frustrated and annoyed drivers leave a zone of speed enforcement. They have been having crashes at the very next hazard. Safe Speed believes this little known side effect of speed cameras is the true reason for the bizarre Cumbrian double traps. It''s called ''race away'', and the double cameras are a misguided attempt to combat this special danger.

In an interview with the Times earlier this year Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom, sometimes called ''The mad mullah of the traffic taliban'' said: ''We have a particular problem with motorcyclists slowing down for the cameras but then speeding up and dying on the next corner.''

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign
(www.safespeed.org.uk) commented: ''We have been trying to monitor these so called ''race away'' crashes for some time. Camera partnerships are reluctant to give us any information, and we''re not surprised. Race away is one of a series of dangerous speed camera side effects, none of which have been properly investigated.

In February this year, Steve Callaghan, manager of the Cumbria camera operation said: ''The mobile sites we have set up have hard standings where the vans are usually located but we can move them within the location of that site. Let''s say the site is 0.9km long, we can operate anywhere inside that distance and this will be done in the coming months. Hopefully this will combat the effect of the ''race away'' and subsequent disaster at a nearby hazard.''

This is a difficult issue for the camera proponents - do they warn the public of the hazard, thereby admitting that their cameras have deadly side effects, or do they allow it to continue? Cumbria has a novel ''solution'', but of course we''ll end up with drivers and riders who are twice as annoyed crashing after the second camera.

On Wednesday 22nd December annual road deaths in Cumbria surpassed the 2003 total making 2004 the worst year since 2000, and there''s a high risk week to go.

Paul continues: ''After the formation of the camera partnership in Cumbria (April 2003) road fatalities have gone up in both 2003 and 2004. Any suggestion that cameras save lives is a sick joke, and especially so for the thousands who have been fined or even banned from driving. Safe Speed demands that we immediately suspend all speed camera operations nationally. The side effects are killing us.''

Important tips for all road users:

Anyone caught speeding twice, 1/4 mile apart should ignore the fixed penalty notices and ask the court to deal with BOTH as a SINGLE OFFENCE. Taking your case to court also PREVENTS the local camera partnership from recovering any fine money.

www.safespeed.org.uk

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