PR205: Speed camera folly in Dorset

News For Immediate Release

News emerges today about a serious error with Dorset Police / camera
partnership paperwork that may lead to the fines issued to thousands of
motorists being refunded. (see link in Notes to editors)

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign
(www.safespeed.org.uk) commented as follows: "We have entered an arms race of
petty regulations. As the authorities enforce speed limits with unnecessary
and unhelpful degrees of technical precision the public is demanding that they
also observe petty regulations to the letter. Neither side is up to the
challenge - we can't stick to speed limits with technical precision and they
can't get their technicalities right either."

"The entire system of speed limit enforcement has become incompetent. We're
not enforcing the right limits for the right reasons against the right people,
and the roads are being made more dangerous. They can't even get their legal
paperwork right. I urge all members of the public to subject paperwork and
requests from camera partnerships to intense scrutiny - errors are frequent
and it is everyone's right to ensure that a case against them is properly made
according to law. In most cases it's far better NOT to pay the fixed penalty,
and to examine the evidence in detail before deciding on a plea. The public
needs to be aware that camera partnerships cannot 'cost recover' money paid in
court fines - they can only 'cost recover' from fixed penalties paid. So if
you reject the fixed penalty and go to court - even if you plead guilty - the
partnerships don't get cash for yet more infernal cameras."

"I've been asking: 'who will stop the runaway gravy train?' but it's starting
to look as if it's going to run off the rails all by itself."

<ends>


Notes for editors:
==================

Original story in Bournemouth:

http://www.thisisbournemouth.co.uk/dorset/bournemouth/news/BOURN_NEWS_NEWS0.html


Defence solicitors involved in the case:

Wetheralls. Contact:

David McCreath
Graham Cole
tel: 01202 294441



About Safe Speed
================

The Safe Speed road safety campaign is primarily the work of engineer-turned
road safety analyst Paul Smith.

Since setting up Safe Speed in 2001, Paul Smith, 49, an advanced motorist and
road safety enthusiast, and a professional engineer of 25 years UK experience,
has carried out over
8,000 hours of research into the overall effects of speed camera policy on UK
road safety. We believe that this is more work in more detail than anything
carried out by any other
organisation. Paul's surprising conclusion is that overall speed cameras make
our roads more dangerous. Paul has identified and reported a number of major
flaws and false
assumptions in the claims made for speed cameras, and the whole "speed kills"
system of road safety.

The inescapable conclusion is that we should urgently return to the excellent
road safety policies that gave us in the UK the safest roads in the World in the
first place.

Safe Speed does not campaign against speed limits or appropriate enforcement of
motoring laws, but argues vigorously that automated speed enforcement is neither
safe nor
appropriate.


Contact Safe Speed:
=================
description: Safe Speed road safety campaign
web: http://www.safespeed.org.uk
email: psmith@...
telephone: 01862 832000 24 hours.
mobile: 07799 045553
ISDN Audio: 01862 832674
note: the mobile does not work well at our office. Always try land line first.
Location: North Scotland

We are available for further comment.

To be added to our PR distribution list send an email to psmith@...
or visit our press pages at: http://www.safespeed.org.uk/prindex.html

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NEW! ISDN Audio: 01862 832674
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