Sponsored by
‘Most speed cameras are cash cows’ says MP
19/3/11 Mike Penning, left, on his Triumph 900 Speedmaster and Trevor Denham on his Harley Davidson 883 at Motorbike Graveyard, Chaulden, Hemel Hempstead.
HIGHWAYS chiefs in Herts have failed to hit a deadline set by roads minister and Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning to publish data about speed cameras.
Herts County Council was told to reveal accident and prosecution rates at camera spots to show which are reducing crashes and which are merely making money.
So far 75 authorities across the country have published the information but another 75 failed to do so by last week’s deadline.
Mr Penning said: “Herts is one of the ones that haven’t. I’ve said publish by the end of September otherwise I will be out there saying: ‘Why aren’t you being honest with motorists about what’s going on?’”
The minister said the data collected so far showed the majority of cameras were ‘cash cows’.
“At the moment it looks like the largest group is where there were no accidents before the cameras have been installed and there’s still no accidents but there are lots of fines,” Mr Penning said.
“Motorists have felt that cameras have been used as cash cows and the evidence is out that they have been right.
“This is the next stage in stopping the war against the motorist.”
The MP said he was aware of one camera at Queensway in Hemel Hempstead that had caused rather than prevented accidents. “I’ve seen accidents where people pull out of Allandale and collide with cars accelerating away from the camera,” he said.
Herts County Council spokesman Andrew Dawson said: “We are responding to the request from the Department for Transport and we are collating the data. We will get that to them as soon as possible.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 8 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Mrs burgerking
Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 06:54 PMHeard on the radio this morning that they are not refunding the fines...
greenspan
Monday, September 5, 2011 at 12:11 PMI completely agree with furryhamst. It should ideally be signed as a bus lane to make it perfectly clear. I understand the rising bollards, installed at considerable expense, now no longer work as they were out of use for so long.
furryhamst
Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 10:43 PMHempstead the signs comply with the TSRGD 2002 as its not a bus lane. Its a restriction banning all motor vehicles except for the signed alternatives. Therefore the order is legal A bus lane would have made a lot more sense to people and that should have been put in. However as I have said numerous time on this forum the rising bollards that are installed at the location should have been switched on as intended by the developer and no a money making camera. As for our 'MP' he should step down as road safety minister as he has no respect for role of speed limits in our towns. Speed Cameras are there to enforce our speed limits. To call them 'cash cows' is frankly appalling. He might as well call for scrapping of all speed limits. If he hates them he should ban them and put more traffic police on our roads.
igloobabe
Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 10:36 PMI totally disagree. The signs at Moor End Road as approached from the mini roundabout by Riverside are about 8ft high and set against the shops, not at the roadside. It's easy to see them - unless you are driving! Also they are too complicated to read in the split second you have to take them in even if you do happen to be staring upwards and sideways!! There may have been huge yellow warnino signs in the weeks leading up to this but if you haven't driven along that way in over 6 months you would not have seen these, as we didn't. We stood there and stopped about 20 motorists about to go down there - in 10 minutes. While we were there three more couples approached us and said they'd been fined and hadn't known about it. Money grabbing cynical policy. If they really wanted to stop the problem they would just put a big BUSESTAXIS ONLY sign at the edge of the road at DRIVER'S EYE HEIGHT!!!!
hempstead
Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 09:45 PMWith regard the newly enforced Bus Lane at Moor End Road Hemel Hempstead, the signage does not comply with current Road Traffic Regulations, omission of road markings being just one example, l would advise all who have been caught by this camera to look the bus lane traffic regulations up online quote the omissions and appeal, your lower fine rate is frozen whilst your appeal goes through and for fourteen days after the final outcomedecision.. Over 10,000 drivers caught in one week , it is blatantly obvious the new signage is seriously lacking.
Sam the Cam
Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 09:27 PMI'm baffled by the government's stance. At the Conservative Party Conference two years ago, Mike Penning's predecessor and fellow Herts MP Theresa Villiers promised to abolish the 'camera quangos' and advised that speed cameras were not the best way to make our roads safer. Trouble is, they've not only failed to deliver, but are hanging onto bags of fine revenue. The Dartford Crossing over the M25 was also only supposed to be tolled until its construction had been paid off, but Penning told Parliament that he needed the millions. Drivers have had to face tailbacks of nearly twelve miles before the tolls will even be suspended. If Penning and his bosses are really friends of the driver, can they give us a firm date when all the various abuses will be ended, please?
djw73t
Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 02:36 PMWell said greenspan , And as for the local MP Mike Penning saying these people that have broken the law should get there money back or not have to pay the fine for breaking the law,What doe's that say about him?
greenspan
Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 01:58 PMI don't understand this notion that speed red light cameras are "cash cows". There are speed limits dictated by the laws of the land and if you break those limits you are breaking the law and you should expect to be fined. Keep to the limits and the council receives nothing, nil, zilch ! Evidence from Moor End Road in Hemel, where road signs have been ignored for years shows that many motorists are unable to follow rules and will try to get away with things if they can.
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.