Our Success
UK Performance
The performance of safety cameras across Britain is evaluated annually.
The most recent data on the performance of safety cameras across Britain came with the publication of the 4-year Evaluation Report of the UK Programme in December 2005. This independent report was carried out by University College London and PA Consulting Group.
It contained results for the 38 UK safety camera partnerships participating in the scheme over the period 1st April 2000 to 31st March 2004. This included Strathclyde (Glasgow) which was one of the original pilot areas, Fife and North East.
The report concluded that in the UK, deaths and serious injuries were cut by 42 percent over and above the national trend after the introduction of safety cameras.
This equates to over 100 fewer deaths and 1,745 fewer deaths and serious injuries per year.
There was a 22 percent fall in personal injury collisions, amounting to 4,230 fewer per year.
Average speeds at new sites fell by around 6 per cent or 2.2 mph.
At 2.7:1 the annual economic benefit of cameras remains good and shows that they deliver substantial economic benefits. The benefit to society as a result of injuries prevented per collision is £61,120.
The report also concludes that even after taking into account the effect of regression to mean (RTM), cameras still provide substantial and valuable casualty benefit.
Linda Mountain, University of Liverpool, who has spent many years investigating RTM, and had done some work in relation to a small sample of cameras, was commissioned by PA and UCL to undertake a piece of work using her methodology for inclusion in the report.
It estimates that the average scheme effect of the 216 sites on Fatal and Serious Collisions, after allowing for both trends and RTM, is as follows:
- 52 fixed cameras - 24% reduction
- 164 mobile cameras - 17% reduction
The report concludes that if these results were typical, cameras would still provide substantial and valuable casualty benefits.
Meanwhile, public opinion continues to support the use of cameras. Opinion polls consistently show overwhelming approval for their role confirming that the public stand firmly on the side of safer roads and not speeding drivers.
Scottish Partnerships Performance
The evidence from the report published confirms that Safety Cameras have contributed to a substantial reduction in accidents, including serious accidents, across the UK as a whole. This is in line with all previous research which confirms the effectiveness of safety cameras as a means of reducing accidents.
The report’s figures for two Scottish partnerships appear to go against that trend. We have not been able to study the methodology employed by the authors, and it is a fact that the data they present for individual Scottish partnerships are based on a relatively small number of cameras at a particular period of time.
The data on every camera for every Scottish partnership has since been checked. The validated, detailed data is published on the Camfinder section of the website, and these figures indicate that camera sites in Scotland are seeing a reduction in accidents, as in the rest of Britain, although as elsewhere some of this reduction may be due to a “regression to mean” effect.
For example, at the sites covered by cameras made operational in 2002:
Fatal and serious accidents fell from 90 per year in 2000-2001 to 70 per year in 2003-2004
All personal injury accidents fell from 290 per year to 250 per year.
In Fife, fatal and serious accidents fell from 32 per year to 23 per year.
In Grampian, fatal and serious accidents fell from 41 per year to 37 per year.
And so far, the figures for cameras made operational in 2003 appear even better, with sharper falls being recorded.