Telford speed camera set on fire
Thursday 22nd July 2010, 11:43AM BST.
A Telford speed camera – the first to be erected in Shropshire – has been set on fire by arsonists for the fourth time since it was installed.
Vandals who threw a tyre doused in petrol over the top of the camera in Bennetts Bank, Wellington, Telford, in the early hours of today before setting it alight were branded “highly irresponsible” by road safety chiefs.
West Mercia Safer Roads Partnership spokeswoman Vicki Bristow said officers were still assessing the damage to the camera this morning and did not, as yet, know whether film inside had been destroyed.
But she added: “The site was introduced due to the collision and casualty history on the road and a demonstrated speed problem.
“In Telford & Wrekin there has been a 33 per cent reduction in personal injury collisions and a 77 per cent reduction in killed or seriously injured collisions at camera sites in the borough.
“In terms of future enforcement activity, we are currently working with our partner agencies, including Telford & Wrekin Council and West Mercia Police, and there are a number of different possibilities we are exploring including using a mobile gatso or moving equipment from another site.”
Wellington Fire Station watch manager Phil Davies confirmed the fire, at about 3am, had been set deliberately.
He added: “It is an unnecessary waste of public funds especially in the current climate.
“We all have mixed feelings about speed cameras but they are there for a reason and in this climate that is going to cost the taxpayer money, both in terms of replacing the camera and in us having to respond to it.”
The camera in Bennetts Bank has been attacked three times before — in one incident, a motorist sliced it in half with an industrial circular saw.
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thats such a shame … ROFLMAO
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I quite agree that the people who did this are highly irresponsible. By throwing the tyre doused in petrol over the camerra they could have got petrol on themselves and risked harm when lighting the tyre. Much safer to place the tyre over the camera.
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Good idea. Why don’t councils get the idea, motorists do not want these cameras, they are of no use, help no one, and do NOT reduce accidents.
No camera in place … nothing to set fire to.
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My fiance has been caught by that camera, she is a careful driver and has been fined for driving slightly over the limit, I wouldn’t set fire to it myself but I can’t say I’m sad that someone else has !!!
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But what about us motorists who do want them. The only possible reason for not wanting these cameras is so no one catches you speeding. Stop breaking the law and you’ll have nothing to worry about.
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Why would you possible WANT a camera in place.
They do not reduce speeding, if anything they cause more accidents with people slamming there breaks on to avoid being caught.
Just a way of the government getting more of our money!
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Rubbish – before I got caught slightly over the limit I was observant of the speed limits, now I brake for the camera. Actually I and most other motorists slow down to around 12 miles per hour what with the parked cars on Bennetts Bank obstructing the road you’d be lucky if that camera ever had the chance to catch anyone speeding. Traffic is always at a standstill same as the Ketley road. Why are there cameras on roads where the traffic barely moves more then 10 miles per hour? Soooo not a safety issue.
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If you were that observant how come you got caught????????????
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Recently got caught by Ketley camera. Bizzarely not on my 170mph motorbike, but in car that I never drive over 60 on any road. Since 1992 there have been over 6000 speed cameras erected. Yet statiscally (I did do maths at university) there has been no statistcally significant change in the number of deaths on roads since 1992. Therefore cameras make no difference, statiscally speaking that is.
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Well done! hahaa
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I always see other drivers speeding all the time, except for the 20 yards under the speed camera, so it dies work for that short space. Infortunatly once they pass it, as they go past the bus stop, there foot is on the accerater instead of cautiously over the brake as the go past the people leaving the college. This means that their reactions are slower in the danger area than if the camera was not there. Just a thought. Same for the one by the scoop further up.
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to be caught once is unfortunate but careless.
to be caught twice is silly.
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The same day his happens, Swindon council announced that there has been on rise in crashed after they switched off the speed cameras in there bough.
maybe money could be saved and this site becomes camera-less.
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No quite true, Dave.
The reason Swindon council are de-commissioning the speed cameras in their borough is due to the frequency of crashes INCREASING at their active camera sites.
I understand Oxford County Council is following suit.
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It seems people only believe what suits them. Swindon council say cameras make no difference, yet in devon they say they make a big difference. The camera on Longdon road has made a massive difference, cars drive passed at the speed limit and this wasn’t happening before.
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“It seems people only believe what suits them. Swindon council say cameras make no difference, yet in devon they say they make a big difference. The camera on Longdon road has made a massive difference, cars drive passed at the speed limit and this wasn’t happening before.”
Adam, traffic may now be going past at the speed limit, which you assume that it wasn’t before, but has it cut the casualty rate at all?
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The Cameras Are Coming Down in the States!
Camerafraud.com
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Aye-up, id love to get flashed for going too fast on my traction engine :)
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Fantastic news for the people of Telford.
‘Highly irresponsible’ say road chiefs??
-Well of course they would.
Its stopped generating cash!
Swindon council, and now Oxford have have switched off their Scamera’s, and guess what happened?
Nothing.
There wasn’t any bloodshed, any carnage, any deaths, or any destruction on the roads, in fact, no rise in accident figures at all.
Of course the Safety Scamera Partnership (now cunningly re-branded as the ‘Safer Roads Partnership’) will defend its position by conjuring up ‘facts and figures’, but what they are really doing is brainwashing the gullable into backing their ever increasing quest to squeeze the last few pence from the pockets of us already hard-up motorists.
By the way, in response to the Fire Station watch manager’s comments abouts us taxpayers having to fund its replacement?
I’d be happy to do that, so i can live in hope of seeing the next one go the same way.
I’d rather this anyday than having to pay towards benefit cheats :)
See, there is pleasure in paying tax afterall!
Marshmallows anyone?…
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Good to see that as usual, the majority of comments are from sensible people who have seen through the camera con, and there’s just the usual one or two who are either gullible, misinformed or lying car-hating control freaks.
It’s really heartening that even after nearly 20 years of continually being lied to by those who stand to gain from camera usage, most people haven’t been taken in. Thank goodness most people aren’t stupid.
Have you noticed that the car-haters/simpletons *never* put forward any other “arguments” except these hopelessly generalised ones: 1) “Speed kills” / “Speeding causes accidents” (with no demonstration or evidence that this is the case) and 2) “If you don’t speed then you’ve got nothing to worry about” (conveniently ignoring the fact that *every* regular driver does speed). Compare that to the many sophisticated arguments that camera opponents put forward, most of which camera supporters never even *attempt* to counter…I wonder why?
I wonder why they never address regression to the mean? I wonder why they never address the fact that fatalities stopped falling as before when cameras were introduced? I wonder why they never address the fact that 95% of collisions take place within the speed limit? I wonder why they never address the fact that there hasn’t been a rise in collisions in Swindon since their cameras were turned off? It’s ALWAYS THE SAME: Why do they never, ever even attempt to properly address these arguments in any detail? It *must* be because they know they can’t, and so to carry on claiming cameras are so great in the knowledge that they can’t address the camera critics’ points is indicative of idiocy, ignorance and wishful thinking at best, and deceit, dishonesty and misanthropy at worst.
It’s clear to me, and (thankfully) 65-85% of the public, that cameras don’t improve safety (and if anything make things worse), and I’m just so glad that finally we’re starting to get rid of the damn things, and that most people have stood firm and not either swallowed the lies from the authorities or knowingly turned against their fellow citizens out of mean-spirited spite and/or a dislike of cars.
Those who still insist on defending cameras while carefully and deliberately sidestepping all the points made against cameras should hang their heads in shame for advocating the completely unnecessary heavy-handed prosecution and persecution of millions of responsible, law-abiding, decent citizens who have never been in trouble with the law before, and the attendant consequences in terms of careers, financial loss, general inconvenience etc, as well as the very real possibility that cameras actually make the roads *less* safe. It’s deplorable that it’s taken so long to get rid of cameras when we’ve had the information that they don’t work for so many years, but better late than never, and I guess some people will *never* admit they were wrong about anything.
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