Dft fooled by the speed camera industry

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2264829/War-speeding-motorists-Drivers-face-20mph-limits-extra-cameras.html

 “The Department for Transport report calls for the cameras to have much wider role in ‘calming’ traffic following evidence they slash fatalities and seriously injuries on the road by more than two thirds, or 69 per cent.”

No such evidence exists even remotely. But this continuing dangerous and misleading talk goes on and on, misleading “road safety” partnerships and fooling the councils and public into asking for more and more.

The sad fact is that the entire decade of obsession with speed, reducing limits, cameras, speed awareness courses, “speed kills”, speed bumps, “calming”,  etc etc etc. HAS NOT REDUCED THE PERECTAGE OF KSI ACCIDENTS INVOLVING SPEED OR SPEEDING BY ANY MEASURABLE AMOUNT WHATSOEVER, and here is the proof: http://www.dorsetspeed.org.uk/news/sog124.aspx

But what the obsession with speed has done is to distract competent progress with accident reduction – IT HAS THEREFORE NOT SAVED LIVES, IT HAS COST MANY.

The DfT has now demonstrated beyond all doubt incompetence and irresponsibility of an alarming magnitude, and this can only cost life.

Just recently, I have been “encouraging” road “safety” partnerships to remove their dangerously misleading statements. Wales removed its explicit lie but failed to comment on it and still publishes the misleading data. Kent however refused and I had to involve the Advertising Standards Agency – they ruled that the statement had to come down. I am looking at a number of other sites.

If the ASA consider that such statements are misleading and inappropriate, why should the DfT be allowed to propagate them?

Far worse, the DfT have deliberately and repeatedly avoided warnings about this and have even dodged formal complaints.

“Lower limits and more road humps, chicanes and other ‘traffic calming’ measures are also among the guidance given to councils.” Then we can look forward to continuing money wasting fiddling that will increase congestion, reduce productivity, won’t reduce accidents and will distract from what we should be doing.

"Road safety minister Stephen Hammond said: ‘We want to see safe roads which meet the needs of everyone, so it is vital councils have clear guidance.’ Indeed. But that guidance has to be the right guidance, Mr Hammond, not the wrong guidance.

The DfT is not fit for purpose by a very long way and we would be better off quite simply without it.