§ 8. Mr. Mark RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of speed cameras in reducing accident rates. [4009]
§ Mr. BowisA cost-benefit analysis of traffic light and speed cameras in 10 police force areas, commissioned by the Home Office and carried out between November 1995 and March 1996, identified a 28 per cent. fall in accidents at speed camera sites—[Interruption.]
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. The Minister is answering the hon. Member's question. Other hon. Members should be helpful on such occasions and not pass between the Member and the Minister.
§ Mr. BowisThe report identified a 28 per cent. fall in accidents at speed camera sites and an 18 per cent. fall at traffic light sites.
§ Mr. RobinsonI congratulate my hon. Friend on those results. I understand that the Government's policy is to target speed cameras on particularly dangerous stretches of road. May I draw my hon. Friend's attention to the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore, on which the West Camel parish council has made representations through me to the Minister for Railways and Roads? It is recognised as a dangerous stretch of road and we hope that it will soon be turned into a dual carriageway. In the interim, however, will the Department look at the matter again to see whether a speed camera could be installed in the hope that it will cut the accident rate, as there have been some awful accidents there in recent years?
§ Mr. BowisI am grateful to my hon. Friend. He is right to pay tribute to the effectiveness of cameras when they are put in the right place. That is made possible through the good partnership between local highway authorities and the police.
The aim of installing the cameras is to deter inappropriate speed, rather than to catch the speedsters. In addition to the reduction in accidents to which I referred, speed at those points has reduced by an average of 4.2 mph. That is good for road safety and, with my hon. Friend, I shall look into the case in Somerset.