Average speed cameras ‘better at improving safety than fixed units’
New research reveals that nearly eight in 10 UK drivers feel that average speed cameras play a greater role in road safety
Most UK drivers believe that average speed cameras are playing a greater role in improving road safety than traditional fixed ones, a new survey has revealed.
Seventy-nine per cent of 2,172 drivers interviewed by the RAC think that average speed cameras are more effective at slowing traffic, compared with just one in 10 who felt that traditional fixed devices were more accomplished at improving safety levels.
When questioned whether or not they believed one type of camera to be fairer than the other, 46 per cent replied that it wasn’t a question of fairness but that they were both there to improve road safety. Despite this, 25 per cent thought that average speed cameras were fairer on the driver, with just seven per cent saying the same of fixed cameras.
RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: “We know that some drivers can be very cynical about speed cameras, with a significant minority having told us they believe they are more about raising revenue than they are about road safety.
“Interestingly, these latest findings show there is now a strong acceptance that they are there to help save lives and prevent casualties on the road.
Motorists appear divided on the subject of speed cameras as a whole, however, with more than a third – 37 per cent – of those questioned believing that cameras are intended to improve road safety, 36 per cent saying they are there to both improve road safety and increase revenue and just over a quarter – 27 per cent – saying that their primary function is to raise money from drivers.
